cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of pneumonia case management on mortality in neonates, infants, and preschool children: a meta-analysis of community-based trials

Pneumonia still causes around two million deaths among children annually (20% of all child deaths). Any intervention that would affect pneumonia mortality is of great public health importance. This meta-analysis provides estimates of mortality impact of the case-management approach proposed by WHO. We were able to get data from nine of ten eligible community-based studies that assessed the effects of pneumonia case-management intervention on mortality; seven studies had a concurrent control group. Standardised forms were completed by individual investigators to provide information on study description, quality scoring, follow-up, and outcome (mortality) data with three age groups (<1 month, <1 year, 0-4 years) and two mortality categories (total and pneumonia-specific). Meta-analysis found a reduction in total mortality of 27% (95% CI 18-35%), 20% (11-28%), and 24% (14-33%) among neonates, infants, and children 0-4 years of age, respectively. In the same three groups pneumonia mortality was reduced by 42% (22-57%), 36% (20-48%), and 36% (20-49%). There was no evidence of publication bias and results were unaltered by exclusion of any study. A limitation of the included studies is that they were not randomised and, because of the nature of the intervention, could not be blinded. Community-based interventions to identify and treat pneumonia have a substantial effect on neonatal, infant, and child mortality and should be incorporated into primary health care.
The Importance of Early Vocabulary for Literacy Achievement in High-Poverty Schools

Although research documents a key contribution of print skills to early literacy, vocabulary and other language skills also provide an important foundation. Focusing on a sample of several hundred low-income children in 16 urban schools that were implementing literacy interventions, 1st-grade predictors of literacy development were traced over time. Beginning-of-1st-grade letter–word identification and word attack skills were the strongest predictors of reading comprehension at the end of 1st grade. However, vocabulary was the best predictor of reading comprehension at the end of 2nd and 3rd grades. The predictive power of early print-related and phonemic-awareness skills diminished over time, yet vocabulary scores remained an important predictor. Results support an early emphasis on developing meaning skills to prepare low-income children for success in literacy.
Describing a problem: rear seatback failure and unsecured cargo.

INTRODUCTION Currently, there is little in the literature regarding the ability of rear seatbacks to act as a protective barrier from cargo in frontal crashes. However, it has been shown that unrestrained rear passengers pose a danger to front seat occupants. The association of rear seatback failures and intrusions with mortality and serious injury were examined. METHODS The Seattle CIREN database for restrained, rear-seat passengers in front-end crashes with seatback failure or intrusion was searched. Injury patterns and crash characteristics, including the role of unrestrained cargo were examined. Next, the National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) database was queried for restrained rear-seat passengers in front-end crashes with recorded seat failure or intrusion. Mortality, maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score and mean Injury Severity Scale (ISS) scores were compared with passengers who had no failure or intrusion. Linear regression was used to identify the differences between the groups. Logistic regression was used to estimate the mortality risk associated with seat failure. RESULTS There were four CIREN cases that met the criteria. In each case, the occupant suffered significant injury or death. All four of the seat failures were the result of unrestrained cargo striking the seatback. The CDS data revealed a statistically significantly increased mortality (OR = 18.9, 95% CI = 14.0-25.7) associated with seat failure. Both the maximum AIS and mean of the ISS scores were higher in the failure/intrusion group (p <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Rear seatback failure/intrusion is associated with increased mortality and injury. Case reports suggest unrestrained cargo plays a significant role in these injuries.
Endothelium-mediated relaxation of porcine collateral-dependent arterioles is improved by exercise training.

Background—Endothelium-dependent modulation of coronary tone is impaired in the collateral-dependent coronary microcirculation. We used a porcine model of chronic coronary occlusion and collateral development to evaluate the hypothesis that exercise training enhances endothelium-mediated relaxation and increases endothelial nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS) mRNA levels of collateral-dependent microvasculature. Methods and Results—Adult female miniature swine were subjected to chronic, progressive ameroid occlusion of the proximal left circumflex coronary artery (LCx); after 2 months, animals were randomly exposed to 16-week exercise-training (EX group; treadmill running) or sedentary (SED group; cage confinement) protocols. After completion of EX or SED programs, coronary arterioles (’100 mm in diameter) were isolated from collateral-dependent LCx (distal to occlusion) and nonoccluded left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) regions of each heart. Arterioles were studied by in vitro videomicroscopy or frozen for ecNOS mRNA analysis (RT-PCR techniques). Relaxation to the endothelium-dependent vasodilator bradykinin was decreased (P,0.05) in arterioles isolated from collateral-dependent LCx versus nonoccluded LAD regions of SED animals. Bradykinin-mediated relaxation, however, was not different in LCx versus LAD arterioles isolated from EX animals. Nitroprusside-induced relaxation was unaffected by either chronic occlusion or exercise. Importantly, ecNOS mRNA expression was significantly decreased in arterioles isolated from LCx versus LAD regions of SED animals. After training, ecNOS mRNA expression was not different between LAD and LCx arterioles. Conclusions—These data indicate that exercise training enhances bradykinin-mediated relaxation of collateral-dependent LCx arterioles isolated after chronic coronary occlusion, most likely because of effects on ecNOS mRNA expression and increased production of NO. (Circulation. 2001;104:1393-1398.)
BASOPHILS AND TYPE 2 IMMUNITY

Purpose of review Mechanisms involved in the development of in-vivo type 2 immunity are poorly defined. Basophils are potent IL-4-producing cells and may contribute to the process of polarizing immune responses. Recent findings Although basophils represent fewer than 0.5% of blood leukocytes, their frequency dramatically increases under certain circumstances, particularly Th2-related responses including parasitic infection and allergic inflammation. Recent studies proposed the hypothesis that basophils could contribute to the development of type 2 immunity by providing initial IL-4 important in T cell polarization and by recruiting other effector cells such as eosinophils or neutrophils. Multiple stimuli of IgE-dependent and IgE-independent pathways that lead to release of cytokines and mediators from activated basophils have been identified. In addition, progenitors that differentiate into mature basophils have recently been identified. Summary The current review revisits basophils with the goal of providing insights into understanding unappreciated roles of basophils in vivo.
The magnetohydrodynamic flow past a flat plate

The uniform steady flow of an incompressible, viscous, electrically conducting fluid is distorted by the presence of a symmetrically oriented semi-infinite flat plate. The ambient magnetic field is coincident with the ambient velocity field. The description of the resulting fields depends on the physical co-ordinates measured in units of Reynolds number and on the two parameters e = ωμν and β = μH2/ρv2. This description of the fields is approximated in three different ways and essentially covers the full range of e and β. In particular, when β [Gt ] 1, no steady flow which is uniform at large distances from the plate exists.
A hybrid discontinuous Galerkin-vector generalized finite element method for electromagnetics

In this paper, we present development of a hybrid discontinuous Galerkin-vector generalized finite element method (DG-VGFEM) to exploit advantages of both methods for frequency domain electromagnetic (EM) simulations. The mathematical framework of VGFEM permits the use of different types of basis functions or mixed polynomial orders within a simulation. Likewise, discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method enables handling of multi-material problems, flexibility in the mesh, and parallelization. These appealing features are exploited in this hybrid method to get better approximation, and perhaps, more efficient simulations of EM fields. The results presented demonstrate -h and -p convergences of the method as well as applications to some realistic problems.
STACS: new active contour scheme for cardiac MR image segmentation

The paper presents a novel stochastic active contour scheme (STACS) for automatic image segmentation designed to overcome some of the unique challenges in cardiac MR images such as problems with low contrast, papillary muscles, and turbulent blood flow. STACS minimizes an energy functional that combines stochastic region-based and edge-based information with shape priors of the heart and local properties of the contour. The minimization algorithm solves, by the level set method, the Euler-Lagrange equation that describes the contour evolution. STACS includes an annealing schedule that balances dynamically the weight of the different terms in the energy functional. Three particularly attractive features of STACS are: 1) ability to segment images with low texture contrast by modeling stochastically the image textures; 2) robustness to initial contour and noise because of the utilization of both edge and region-based information; 3)ability to segment the heart from the chest wall and the undesired papillary muscles due to inclusion of heart shape priors. Application of STACS to a set of 48 real cardiac MR images shows that it can successfully segment the heart from its surroundings such as the chest wall and the heart structures (the left and right ventricles and the epicardium.) We compare STACS' automatically generated contours with manually-traced contours, or the "gold standard," using both area and edge similarity measures. This assessment demonstrates very good and consistent segmentation performance of STACS.
Lessons from the Tao for Birthing Practice

The metaphysics of the Tao Te Ching, as the basic structure of the universe, is used to examine birthing as creation. Lessons from the Tao regarding cultivating naturalness are drawn upon to provide suggestions for women in preparation for birthing, as well as for the nurses and midwives who attend them. Compatibility of this metaphysical view of birthing with Rogers's and Newman's nursing theories is identified, and the importance of honoring the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of birthing in nursing practice is stressed.
Output error identification of closed-loop Hammerstein systems

A feedback connection of a Hammerstein system and a linear controller provides a good approach to modeling systems with static actuator nonlinearity or input saturation during closed-loop experiments. This paper discusses the Output Error (OE) identification of such closed-loop Hammerstein systems that requires a nonlinear optimization due to the non-convexity of the output error. An iterative IV (Instrumental Variables) identification algorithm is proposed for the nonlinear optimization. The basic idea is to express the nonlinear parameter estimation as an iterative IV estimation using gradient based updates. The proposed iterative IV identification method is applied to the simulation data from a Hammerstein system with input static nonlinearity. The simulation study shows the effectiveness of the proposed identification algorithms.
A reanalysis of the relationship between strong westerlies and precipitation in the great plains and midwest regions of north America

A conceptual model relating expanded or strengthened mid-latitude summer westerlies with summer precipitation patterns has been used to explain past drought events in the Great Plains and Midwest of North America, including drought between 1200 and 1400 AD. However, this relationship was originally described using 20 years of instrumental data from the mid 20{th} century, and has not been verified with modern datasets. We reinvestigated the relationship between July westerlies and precipitation in the United States using instrumental records of the last 55 years. We also investigated whether changes in summer zonal flow patterns associated with precipitation anomalies represent a shift in the latitude of peak westerly winds or an increase in wind speed, or a combination of both. Finally, we briefly compare the pattern of precipitation anomalies to paleoclimatic records of drought between 1200 and 1400 AD. Results confirm that strong westerlies are associated with a band of decreased precipitation extending from the northern Rockies into the Midwest. Changes in summer westerlies associated with these patterns are characterized by a strengthening of mean westerly winds, with only a slight southward shift of peak winds over the Atlantic. Changes in the strength of the westerlies over both the Pacific and Atlantic appear to be important to precipitation deficits in the Midwest. Proxy-climate records from 1200 to 1400 AD indicate widespread drought in the Great Plains and Midwest, consistent with the hypothesis of stronger westerlies at this time. However, drought conditions also extended to other regions of North America, indicating a more detailed understanding of the potential causes and synoptic climatology is needed.
Economic globalization, the macro economy, and reversals of welfare: Expansion in affluent democracies, 1978-94

A key question in debates over globalization is its effect on the welfare states in particular on welfare “retrenchments”: programmatic retractions of the scope and coverage of social programs. We conceptualize such retrenchments as discrete policy events; and we offer a comprehensive model of their occurrence that integrates domestic economic, political, and institutional factors as well as those related to the global economy. Our analysis of all such retrenchments in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations between 1978 and 1994 indicates that the effects of globalization are complex, with trade openness and financial liberalization clearly operating against such retrenchments but outward foreign direct investment perhaps pressuring for them. In addition, we uncover support for a dynamic of “self-limiting immoderation”: economic and demographic pressures for costly welfare expenditures provoke actions to roll back eligibility and benefit rates that link increasing numbers of unemployed and retired persons to increased social spending. In short, the same demographic pressures that gave often been noted to substantially drive welfare spending may trigger welfare cutbacks.Our thanks to A. A. Alderson, Bob Jackman, Lane Kenworthy, Joakim Palme, Duane Swank, John Stephen, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and discussions, as well as to Kendralin Freedman for her work preparing the final manuscript. All remaining errors are our own. Previous versions of this article were presented at the Annual Meetings of the American Political Science Association and the American Sociological Association. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of the National Science Foundation or the U.S. government. All data and commands necessary to replicate the analyses presented here are available at our Web site 〈http://polisci.emory.edu/zorn/HZ/index.html〉.
PROGRESS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS IN ARCHOSAUR PHYLOGENETICS

The basic structure of archosaurian phylogeny is understood to include two primary crown-group lineages—one leading to living crocodiles and including a broad diversity of Triassic animals (e.g., phytosaurs, rauisuchians, aetosaurs), and another leading to dinosaurs (living and extinct). These lineages were established by the middle Triassic. A few extinct groups remain controversial, such as the pterosaurs, and debate persists over the phylogenetic relationships among extant bird lineages, which have proved difficult to resolve, and divergence timing estimates within Aves and Crocodylia remain the source of contention. A few analyses support a close relationship between archosaurs and turtles, or even a nesting of turtles within Archosauria. All sources of information used to resolve these issues have weaknesses, and these problems all involve highly derived lineages when they first appear in the fossil record.
A Writing Group for Female Assistant Professors

Abstract Introduction The number of female medical school faculty being promoted and the speed at which they are promoted have not kept pace with their male counterparts at many institutions. One of the reasons is that these women are not publishing peer reviewed manuscripts at an equivalent rate. This study evaluates the impact of a women's writing group on faculty publication rates. Materials and Methods The writing group was conducted by 2 senior faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and targeted female junior faculty. The writing group consisted of a didactic skills curriculum, question sessions, and both faculty and peer support to improve publishing rates. Curriculum vitae were collected, and PubMed and Ovid searches were used to establish the publishing productivity of the writing group participants both before and after participation in the writing group. Results On average, women who completed the writing group showed a nearly 3-fold increase in average publishing rate from 1.5 papers per year preceding the course to 4.5 per year following completion of the writing group (p Conclusions The results from our program suggest that a women's writing group is an effective intervention for increasing publishing rates of female junior faculty. In addition to the documented improvement in publication rates, we watched participants develop clearer writing styles, lose many of their inhibitions about writing, respond to group affiliation and collaboration, and gain tremendous self-confidence.
The Itinerancy of the Ancient Physician

In all modern discussions of the ancient medical career physicians are described as itinerant, but this is not stated explicitly in any ancient text. There are a number of texts in which doctors move from one place to another, but the idea that relocation was a common and recurring aspect of the lives of most iatroi is only one way of interpreting this evidence and, I shall argue, not the most convincing one. The motif of itinerancy has remained unquestioned because it dovetails so well with the current view of rational medicine as a newcomer struggling to find acceptance in the medical market place of the classical world. In this paper I shall examine the texts which are most commonly cited as evidence for itinerancy and demonstrate that not only do they not entail nomadic iatroi but they often indicate that a physician was expected to have a well established and enduring base of operations.
A Few Figs from Thistles: Edna St. Vincent Millay—“Constant only to the Muse” and Not To Be Taken Lightly

A Few Figs from Thistles (1920) has been received much differently than Edna St. Vincent Millay’s other poetic work. Scholars repeatedly describe this volume as “light verse,” an impression that, I argue, is misinformed. This mischaracterization of Millay’s Figs from Thistles is not only due to the literary and cultural challenges faced by women modernist writers of the 1920s, but also because of the volume’s difficult production history, including her original publisher’s poor business practices and the resulting interruption in her early poetic output. The material record—unpublished correspondence with close friends and poets Arthur Ficke and Witter (Hal) Bynner, as well as working manuscripts—shows that Millay was creating the poetry that we know as Figs from Thistle together with poems that span a larger portion of her oeuvre, including several poems that would appear in the Pulitzer-winning The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems (1923), a volume typically read as the product of a markedly more “developed” or “mature” Millay. However, as I demonstrate in this article, Millay’s legacy cautions against critical approaches that rehearse unchecked readings, and her concerted efforts to “revise” Figs from Thistles and its reception further highlight the hazards of discourses largely informed by the conceptual attractiveness of poetic maturation.
Tumor diameter as a predictor of lymphatic dissemination in endometrioid endometrial cancer

Abstract Objectives To assess the utility of tumor diameter (TD) for predicting lymphatic dissemination (LD) and determining need for lymphadenectomy following diagnosis of endometrioid endometrial cancer. Methods Patients diagnosed with stage I–III endometrioid endometrial cancer during 2003–2013 who underwent pelvic or para-aortic lymphadenectomy during hysterectomy were studied. Intraoperative predictors of LD included TD, grade, myometrial invasion (MI), age, body mass index, and race/ethnicity. Candidate logistic regression models of LD were evaluated for model fit and predictive power. Results Of 737 cancer patients, 68 (9.2%) were node-positive. Single-variable models with only continuous TD (c-statistic 0.77, 95% CI 0.71–0.83) and dichotomous TD with 50-mm cut-off (TD 50 ; c-statistic 0.73, 95% CI 0.67–0.78) were significantly more predictive than with the standard 20-mm cut-off (c-statistic 0.56, 95% CI 0.53–0.59). Overall, the most important LD predictors were TD 50 and MI 3rds (three-category form). The best candidate model (c-statistic 0.84, 95% CI 0.80–0.88) suggested odds of LD were five times greater for TD >50mm than ≤50mm (OR 4.91, 95% CI 2.73–8.82) and six and ten times greater for MI >33% to ≤66% (OR, 5.70; 95% CI, 2.25–14.5) and >66% (OR 10.2, 95% CI 4.11–25.4), respectively, than ≤33%. Best-model false-negative (0%) and positive (57.2%) rates demonstrated marked improvement over traditional risk-stratification false-negative (1.5%) and positive (76.2%) rates (c-statistic 0.77, 95% CI 0.72–0.82). Conclusions Tumor diameter is an important predictor of LD. Our risk model, containing modified forms of MI and TD, yielded a lower false-negative rate and can significantly decrease the number of lymphadenectomies performed on low-risk women.
Emerging technologies in augmentative and alternative communication: restorative and compensatory approaches to acquired disorders of communication

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technologies are underutilized in the treatment of acquired communication disorders for a variety of reasons. A potential AAC user may prefer to regain lost skills rather than have to replace them with a less natural means of communicating. The technology may be rejected because of its appearance, its inefficiencies in supporting typical communicative exchanges, or the complexities of its use. Further, many individuals who have sustained injury to their brains exhibit highly idiosyncratic language disturbances requiring specialized applications of technology that simply do not exist. This review article examines several current and emerging technologies with potential to impact the often complex cognitive and linguistic sequelae of neurological injury. This review begins with a synopsis of progress in areas such as speech input and output, natural language processing, interface technologies, and graphics that make consideration of a new generation of devices possible. This is followed by a discussion of specific aspects of communication breakdown that might be minimized or eliminated through applications of technology that address restoration of communicative function as well as compensation for the loss of function. Lastly, the review addresses the conceptual and attitudinal shifts that must occur if AAC technologies are to be useful to and accepted by individuals with acquired communicative disorders and their families. The key to successful application of emerging technology rests with language researchers, clinicians and consumers; they must provide guidance to product developers so that new device designs address communication needs in effective and acceptable ways.
Bidirectional electromagnetic control of the hypothalamus regulates feeding and metabolism

Targeted, temporally regulated neural modulation is invaluable in determining the physiological roles of specific neural populations or circuits. Here we describe a system for non-invasive, temporal activation or inhibition of neuronal activity in vivo and its use to study central nervous system control of glucose homeostasis and feeding in mice. We are able to induce neuronal activation remotely using radio waves or magnetic fields via Cre-dependent expression of a GFP-tagged ferritin fusion protein tethered to the cation-conducting transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) by a camelid anti-GFP antibody (anti-GFP-TRPV1). Neuronal inhibition via the same stimuli is achieved by mutating the TRPV1 pore, rendering the channel chloride-permeable. These constructs were targeted to glucose-sensing neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus in glucokinase-Cre mice, which express Cre in glucose-sensing neurons. Acute activation of glucose-sensing neurons in this region increases plasma glucose and glucagon, lowers insulin levels and stimulates feeding, while inhibition reduces blood glucose, raises insulin levels and suppresses feeding. These results suggest that pancreatic hormones function as an effector mechanism of central nervous system circuits controlling blood glucose and behaviour. The method we employ obviates the need for permanent implants and could potentially be applied to study other neural processes or used to regulate other, even dispersed, cell types.
DNA–Protein Cross-Links: Formation, Structural Identities, and Biological Outcomes

ConspectusNoncovalent DNA–protein interactions are at the heart of normal cell function. In eukaryotic cells, genomic DNA is wrapped around histone octamers to allow for chromosomal packaging in th...
Attentional bias training in girls at risk for depression.

Background This study examined, for the first time, whether attentional biases can be modified in adolescents at risk for depression. Methods The final sample consisted of 41 girls at familial risk for depression, who were randomly assigned to receive six sessions (864 trials) of real or sham attention bias training [Real attentional bias training (ABT) vs. Sham ABT]. Participants who received Real ABT completed a modified dot-probe task designed to train attention toward positive and away from negative facial expressions; in contrast, girls who received Sham ABT completed the standard dot-probe task. Attentional biases, self-reported mood, and psychophysiological responses to stress were measured at pre- and post-training assessments. Results As expected, girls who received Real ABT, but not those who received Sham ABT, exhibited significant increases from pre- to post-training in their attention toward happy faces and away from sad faces. Moreover, adolescents who received Real ABT were buffered against the negative outcomes experienced by adolescents who received Sham ABT. Specifically, only adolescents who received Sham ABT experienced an increase in negative mood and a pre- to post-training increase in heart rate in anticipation of the stressor. Conclusions The current findings provide the first experimental evidence that attentional biases can be modified in youth at risk for depression and further suggest that ABT modulates the heightened response to stress that is otherwise experienced by high-risk adolescents.
Expression and function of the integrin alpha9beta1 in bovine aortic valve interstitial cells.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Aortic valve interstitial cells (VIC), the most prevalent valve leaflet cells, have not been well studied. However, recent interest in constructing tissue-engineered living heart valves has provided motivation to further an understanding of the molecular and cellular biology of VIC. Since cell-extracellular matrix interactions are critical for tissue morphogenesis, adhesive interactions and integrin function in VIC were investigated. METHODS Bovine and baboon VIC were isolated and characterized by morphology, cytoskeletal protein expression and integrin expression. The interaction of VIC integrin alpha9beta1 with osteopontin, a ligand known to be up-regulated in the wounded valve, was examined. The ability of bovine VIC alpha9beta1 to mediate adhesion, focal contact formation, migration and proliferation when plated on the immobilized osteopontin substrates, was investigated. RESULTS Cultured bovine VIC possessed characteristics of both fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. Like fibroblasts, bovine VIC had an elongated morphology with long cytoplasmic processes. Like smooth muscle cells, bovine VIC expressed alpha-smooth muscle actin and SM22alpha. Using fluorescent flow cytometry, the surface expression of integrins alpha9beta1 and alpha(v)beta3 in bovine VIC and integrins alpha1beta1, alpha2beta1, and alpha5beta1 in baboon VIC was identified. Expression of alpha9beta1 in cultured VIC and in native valve leaflets was further confirmed by Western blot and RT-PCR analysis. Bovine VIC were found to adhere to the 30N fragment of osteopontin in an alpha9beta1-dependent manner, and this interaction was mediated through the SVVYGLR motif. Bovine VIC also formed focal contacts through the alpha9beta1 integrin, but osteopontin (30N) did not stimulate migration or proliferation of bovine VIC through the integrin alpha9beta1. CONCLUSION Integrin alpha9beta1 appears to be predominantly involved in controlling anchorage rather than movement or proliferation, in bovine VIC. For tissue engineering, knowledge of the VIC integrin profile can be applied to the rational design of scaffolds with the appropriate ligands for tissue formation. The VIC a9beta1-SVVYGLR interaction could be exploited to promote cell anchorage within a tissue engineering scaffold.
Missed Opportunities: The Unrealized Equal Protection Framework in Maher v. Roe and Harris v. McRae

This Note focuses on two cases, Maher v. Roe and Harris v. McRae, and argues that they represent watershed moments in the reproductive rights movement because they positioned abortion as a fundamental right in name only. In both cases, the Supreme Court sanctioned severe funding restrictions and refused to grant poor women the right to state and federal assistance for elective and “nontherapeutic” abortions. “Non-therapeutic abortion” refers to those abortions performed or induced when the life of the mother is not endangered if the fetus is carried to term or when the pregnancy of the mother is not the result of rape or incest reported to a law enforcement agency. This Note contends that by articulating the abortion right as stemming from the “right to privacy,” the Court effectively ruled out the possibility of public assistance for abortions. In contrast, a better approach to this issue would be to use an equality framework grounded in the Equal Protection Clause. This approach would instruct courts to invalidate state abortion restrictions that either 1) impose a burden on the reproductive choices of women when there is no equivalent restriction placed on men; or 2) have a disparate impact on indigent women. These missed opportunities to reorient the Court’s reproductive rights jurisprudence under the Equal Protection Clause continue to have lasting effects on women’s access to abortion, as the Court continues to weaken the Due Process standard articulated in Roe, enabling it to uphold increasingly prohibitive state restrictions on abortion.
Linking Participatory, Bayesian, and Agent-Based Modeling Techniques to Simulate Coupled Natural-Human System: A Case Study with Ranchers in Sonora, Mexico

Conflicts for water between human use and ecological function have increased in recent years for semi-arid rivers. In the semi-arid Rio Sonora watershed, precipitation varies widely both annually and seasonally. In a harsh semi-arid climate with limited water resources, ranching remains one of the few remaining options to support livelihoods. Water resources are an important component to ranching operations, but are limited and costly. The method a rancher adopts to manage his herd is one of many decisions heavily influenced by both water and money. In an uncertain political and environmental climate, concern rises about the future of the rancher industry, rancher families, and their way of life. As a case study for the Rio Sonora Watershed, a series of workshops were held in the city of Rayon, Sonora, Mexico. The purpose of the workshops was to identify important decisions made by ranchers in the study area, and attempt to predict the likelihood of their choices under various environmental conditions. We applied a new methodology for characterizing decision-making, Bayesian cognitive mapping, which creates a probability of the likelihoods decisions will be made. The construction of a Bayesian cognitive map requires stakeholder involvement in two steps: development of an acyclic graph structure and data collection. The Bayesian cognitive map of Sonoran ranchers is then be applied to an agent-based model to incorporate temporal dynamics. Developing Bayesian cognitive maps of human decision-making is a time-intensive endeavor; however, the approach is holistic, easy to use, encourages stakeholder participation, and values individual variation. This chapter provides an introduction into how Bayesian cognitive maps can be created via participatory approaches and translated into an agent-based model.
Chinese Students' Motivations for Studying in the United States.

This study examines the presence of Chinese students in U.S., and attempts to explore the reasons why so many Chinese students choose to study abroad and why the United States is their preferred destination. This population is a vital component of university life at many colleges and a much needed source of financial revenue. The results indicate that Chinese students are seeking education with a worldview and opt to break from the Chinese system of learning. This article seeks to offer academicians and university administrators a deeper understanding of the motivation of these Chinese students and contribute to the knowledge area extant on this population.
Economics of forest carbon sequestration.

Concern over rising greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere and the corresponding potential for harmful global climate change has spawned international effort to mitigate the build-up of GHGs. In addition to targeting reductions of GHG emissions from fossil fuel combustion, global mitigation efforts include the sequestration of atmospheric CO2, the most critical GHG, into terrestrial carbon (C) stocks, often referred to as the creation of a C “sink.”
The impact of personal freedom aspirations and personal stability requirements

Purpose - This paper examines the dominant socio-cognitive intentions- based models for entrepreneurship development and proposes two new non- socio-cognitive, non-personality traits variables (personal freedom aspirations and personal stability requirements) that moderate entrepreneurship development. Design/methodology/approach - Determinants of entrepreneurial intentions are explored from a grounded perspective based on six cases of individuals who made decisions to abandon their wage-earning jobs in order to set up their own business ventures. Findings - The six cases suggest that, when personal autonomy is threatened, personal freedom aspirations could tip individuals into entrepreneurial intentions. These intentions are in turn moderated by personal stability requirements before embarking on entrepreneurial ventures. Research limitations/implications - The six case studies rely on individuals’ hindsight and recollections. Thus, reported associations amongst variables that led to entrepreneurial acti...
Prevalence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) persistently infected calves in auction markets from the southeastern United States; association between body weight and BVDV-positive diagnosis

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a ubiquitous infectious agent affecting cattle worldwide. Animals that are born persistently infected (PI) with BVDV are considered the primary viral reservoirs in cattle herds and are capable of shedding copious amounts of virus into the environment. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of BVDV PI among stocker calves in the southeastern United States and evaluate whether lighter BW cattle would have a greater prevalence of BVDV persistent infection than heavier BW cattle. Stocker calves from auction markets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee were sampled from March to December 2005. Following purchase, they were transported to a central holding facility where the calves were processed, sorted, and assembled into truckload lots based on their average BW. Skin biopsies (ear notches) were collected in zinc buffered formalin for the detection of BVDV persistent infection using immunohistochemistry. Twenty-four BVDV-positive calves were detected in a sampling of 7,544 calves. The overall BVDV PI prevalence in stocker calves sampled was measured at 0.318%. This prevalence agreed closely with the BVDV PI prevalence reported previously in other regions of the United States. In this study, calves weighing less than 180 kg had greater BVDV PI prevalence with 2.78 times greater probability of being PI animals compared with calves over 180 kg.
Abstract IA21: Interrogating cancer drivers and dependencies using non-germline mouse models

Cancer is a heterogeneous disease involving various genetic and epigenetic alterations that initiate and maintain the disease. Our laboratory is interested in understanding how such alterations contribute to tumorigenesis, alter treatment response, and create vulnerabilities that may be targeted therapeutically. To interrogate cancer in vivo, we have developed a range of non-germline mouse models that enable a wide variety of cancer genotypes to be produced in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional germline methods. Approaches vary depending on the particular question, and can involve genetic manipulation and retransplantation of tissue stem cells and/or organoid cultures, the generation of multi-allelic ES cells and subsequent use in chimeric mice, and direct somatic engineering of mutations in particular tissues. Additionally, we have incorporated RNAi and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies to expedite our ability to study gene function in these models. Collectively, the combination of these tools has allowed us to identify and characterize new cancer drives using one-by-one or multiplexed approaches, and to perform rapid in vivo validation of “hits” from functional genomic screens. Examples of each method and approach will be presented. Citation Format: Scott W. Lowe. Interrogating cancer drivers and dependencies using non-germline mouse models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Advances in Modeling Cancer in Mice: Technology, Biology, and Beyond; 2017 Sep 24-27; Orlando, Florida. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA21.
EXCEPTIONAL CHARACTERS OF FINITE GROUPS WITH A FROBENIUS SUBGROUP

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the answers to some problems involving exceptional characters of finite groups. It presents an assumption that G is a finite group and p an odd prime. A Sylow p-group P of G is a trivial intersection set in G and its normalizer NG(P) = N is a Frobenius group with Frobenius kernel P. If, in addition, G has at least two classes of p-elements it is known that exceptional characters exist for both G and N. These may be described (for either G or N) as exactly those irreducible characters which are not constant on P#.
SHARP: Shared Heterogeneous Architecture with Reconfigurable Photonic Network-on-Chip

As the relentless quest for higher throughput and lower energy cost continues in heterogenous multicores, there is a strong demand for energy-efficient and high-performance Network-on-Chip (NoC) architectures. Heterogeneous architectures that can simultaneously utilize both the serialized nature of the CPU as well as the thread level parallelism of the GPU are gaining traction in the industry. A critical issue with heterogeneous architectures is finding an optimal way to utilize the shared resources such as the last level cache and NoC without hindering the performance of either the CPU or the GPU core. Photonic interconnects are a disruptive technology solution that has the potential to increase the bandwidth, reduce latency, and improve energy-efficiency over traditional metallic interconnects. In this article, we propose a CPU-GPU heterogeneous architecture called Shared Heterogeneous Architecture with Reconfigurable Photonic Network-on-Chip (SHARP) that clusters CPU and GPU cores around the same router and dynamically allocates bandwidth between the CPU and GPU cores based on application demands. The SHARP architecture is designed as a Single-Writer Multiple-Reader (SWMR) crossbar with reservation-assist to connect CPU/GPU cores that dynamically reallocates bandwidth using buffer utilization information at runtime. As network traffic exhibits temporal and spatial fluctuations due to application behavior, SHARP can dynamically reallocate bandwidth and thereby adapt to application demands. SHARP demonstrates 34% performance (throughput) improvement over a baseline electrical CMESH while consuming 25% less energy per bit. Simulation results have also shown 6.9% to 14.9% performance improvement over other flavors of the proposed SHARP architecture without dynamic bandwidth allocation.
A FEATURE DETECTION ALGORITHM FOR AUTONOMOUS CAMERA CALIBRATION

This paper presents an adaptive and robust algorithm for automatic corner detection. Ordinary camera calibration methods require that a set of feature points – usually, corner points of a chessboard type of pattern – be presented to the camera in a controlled manner. On the other hand, the proposed approach automatically locates the feature points even in the presence of cluttered background, change in illumination, arbitrary poses of the pattern, etc. As the results demonstrate, the proposed technique is much more appropriate to automatic camera calibration than other existing methods.
Matrix Multiplication Parallelization on a Many-Core Platform

This paper introduces an approach to analyze the power and energy consumption of a many-core system. The investigation has been done by using the Intel SCC system as an experimental platform. The approach is to collect the time and power profiling of an executing application on the Intel SCC system. And then, we find the total energy consumed for the entire execution. We studied the effects of power and energy consumption in many-core systems by varying different hardware configuration parameters such as number of cores, clock frequency and voltage level. Thus, the many-core system can be explored for its scalability, fitness in operational cost and performance.
Lehren und Lernen

Ted Williams (Pseudonym) leitet die Mathematikabteilung einer angesehenen Privatschule in Neuengland. Das Interview fand im April 1978 statt.
The Harry Vardon Swing

Today’s competent right-handed golfer knows that he must swing the club with a straight left arm. Our calculations show that any attempt to make the clubhead move with greater speed at impact with the ball by using helping wrist action and particularly by bending the left elbow actually decreases the clubhead speed at impact. My interest in the golf swing would have been limited to the straight-left-arm swing had not a friend informed me that in his reading about the history of golf he had learned that a British golfer of a former day, Harry Vardon, had “a habit he never foresook but compensated for—bending his left arm at the top of his backswing” [25].
An Electrotopological-State Index for Atoms in Molecules

A new method for molecular structure description is presented in which both electronic and topological characteristics are combined. The method makes use of the hydrogen-suppressed graph to represent the structure. The focus of the method is on the individual atoms and hydride groups of the molecular skeleton. An intrinsic atom value is assigned to each atom as I = (delta v + 1)/delta, in which delta v and delta are the counts of valence and sigma electrons of atoms associated with the molecular skeleton. The electrotopological-state value, Si, for skeletal atom i is defined as Si = Ii + delta Ii, for second row atoms, where the influence of atom j on atom i, delta Ii, is given as sigma(Ii-Ij)/rij2; rij is the graph separation between atom i and atom j, counted as the number of atoms. The characteristics of the electrotopological state values are indicated by examples of various types of organic structures, including chain lengthening, branching, heteroatoms, and unsaturation. The relation of the E-state value to NMR chemical shift is investigated for a series of alkyl ethers. The E-state oxygen value gives an excellent correlation with the 17O NMR: r = 0.993 for 10 ethers. A biological application of the E-state values in QSAR analysis is given for the binding of barbiturates to beta-cyclodextrin.
Treatment of Congenital Penile Curvature with Penile Torsion: A New Twist

Congenital penile curvature secondary to asymmetry of corpora cavernosal length is an uncommon cause of penile deformity. Although the deformity generally is not severe enough to preclude sexual intercourse it can be a source of great concern to the patient and may cause him to avoid all sexual contact. The Nesbit procedure is a simple, effective surgical technique to correct lateral or ventral curvature. Rarely penile deviation is accompanied by penile torsion. This unique problem requires a novel surgical approach to create a straight, nontwisted erection. We report 2 cases of congenital lateral penile curvature with accompanying penile torsion and describe a simple modification of the Nesbit procedure for surgical correction.
Back to Basics: Enhancing Efficiency in the Generation and Delivery of Electricity

This chapter examines the seldom discussed topic of electricity used in the generation and delivery of electric power. In power plants, this includes power for plant auxiliaries such as electric motors to power pumps and fans, as well as environmental control systems. On the power delivery system, this includes electricity losses in cables, conductors, and transformers. This category also includes power for HVAC, lighting, IT, and other uses in substations, control centers, offices, and other buildings. The results of a recent analysis prepared by the author conclude that approximately 11 percent of electricity produced in the United States is consumed in the production and delivery of electricity itself. The author also concludes that various technologies (some of which are explained in this chapter) have the technical and economic potential to reduce this electricity use in U.S. utilities by at least 10 percent – enough to power 3.9 million homes.