cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A neural network for predicting unintentional lane departures

Unintended lane departure accidents are due to driver's inattention, incapacitation, and drowsiness. Lane departure warning systems have been developed to enhance traffic safety by predicting/detecting driving situation and alerting drivers to avoid or mitigate traffic accidents. This paper explores effectiveness of a three-layer perceptron neural network in predicting an unintentional lane departure, which to the best of our knowledge has not been reported in the literature. This study used driver experiment data generated by VIRTTEX, a hydraulically powered 6-degrees-of-freedom moving base driving simulator at Ford Motor Company. The experimental data represented 16 drowsy drivers who drove a simulated 2000 Volvo S80 (three hours per driver), which consisted of a total of 3,508 lane departure occurrences. Two-third of the lane departures were randomly selected to generate training examples for the network (82,040 examples for a 0.2-second prediction horizon and 171,112 for a 0.5-second horizon). The number of hidden neurons as well as the input vehicle variables were optimized experimentally through the training process. The optimized network was then used to predict lane departure by processing the entire driving time series of the 16 drivers one by one after all the training data was removed from the time series. The network made a prediction at each sampling moment of the time series and there were over 6.3 million predictions. The overall recall and precision of the optimized network for the 0.2-second horizon were 99.74% and 99.66%, respectively, which degraded to 99.23% and 85.49%, respectively, when the horizon increased to 0.5 s.
Low Temperature Galvanomagnetic Properties of Graphites

The electrical resistances and Hall coefficients of polycrystalline graphite, neutron irradiated graphite, chemically doped graphite, and neutron irradiated chemically doped graphite have been meas...
Acute neuroinflammation induces AIS structural plasticity in a NOX2-dependent manner.

Chronic microglia-mediated inflammation and oxidative stress are well-characterized underlying factors in neurodegenerative disease, whereby reactive inflammatory microglia enhance ROS production and impact neuronal integrity. Recently, it has been shown that during chronic inflammation, neuronal integrity is compromised through targeted disruption of the axon initial segment (AIS), the axonal domain critical for action potential initiation. AIS disruption was associated with contact by reactive inflammatory microglia which wrap around the AIS, increasing association with disease progression. While it is clear that chronic microglial inflammation and enhanced ROS production impact neuronal integrity, little is known about how acute microglial inflammation influences AIS stability. Here, we demonstrate that acute neuroinflammation induces AIS structural plasticity in a ROS-mediated and calpain-dependent manner. C57BL/6J and NOX2−/− mice were given a single injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 5 mg/kg) or vehicle (0.9% saline, 10 mL/kg) and analyzed at 6 h–2 weeks post-injection. Anti-inflammatory Didox (250 mg/kg) or vehicle (0.9% saline, 10 mL/kg) was administered beginning 24 h post-LPS injection and continued for 5 days; animals were analyzed 1 week post-injection. Microglial inflammation was assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and RT-qPCR, and AIS integrity was quantitatively analyzed using ankyrinG immunolabeling. Data were statistically compared by one-way or two-way ANOVA where mean differences were significant as assessed using Tukey’s post hoc analysis. LPS-induced neuroinflammation, characterized by enhanced microglial inflammation and increased expression of ROS-producing enzymes, altered AIS protein clustering. Importantly, inflammation-induced AIS changes were reversed following resolution of microglial inflammation. Modulation of the inflammatory response using anti-inflammatory Didox, even after significant AIS disruption occurred, increased the rate of AIS recovery. qPCR and IHC analysis revealed that expression of microglial NOX2, a ROS-producing enzyme, was significantly increased correlating with AIS disruption. Furthermore, ablation of NOX2 prevented inflammation-induced AIS plasticity, suggesting that ROS drive AIS structural plasticity. In the presence of acute microglial inflammation, the AIS undergoes an adaptive change that is capable of spontaneous recovery. Moreover, recovery can be therapeutically accelerated. Together, these findings underscore the dynamic capabilities of this domain in the presence of a pathological insult and provide evidence that the AIS is a viable therapeutic target.
Bioreplication for optical applications

Evolving from the oblique-angle deposition method used industrially for the deposition of thin films, the conformal-evaporated-film-by-rota-tion (CEFR) technique has been successfully applied to replicate surfaces of biologic origin. The CEFR technique is the first step of the Nano4Bio technique, an industrially scalable bioreplication process, the other three steps being electroforming, plasma ashing, and either stamping or casting. These techniques have found optical applications in diverse fields, including forensic science, pest control, and light sources.
Die rechtliche Gestaltung der Geldpolitik

Wirtschaftspolitische Ziele wie die des „magischen Vierecks”, namlich Vollbeschaftigung, Preisniveaustabilitat, Wirtschaftswachstum und ausenwirtschaftliches Gleichgewicht, werden in der modernen Volkswirtschaft auch mittels des Einsatzes monetarer Instrumente verfolgt. Trager der Geld- bzw. Wahrungspolitik sind die Regierung oder (und) die Notenbank. Voraussetzung fur deren konjunkturpolitische Steuerung ist die Schaffung einer Geld-, Kredit- und Wahrungsordnung, eines finanziellen Kommunikationssystems. Dazu gehort vor allem die Sicherung der drei Grundfunktionen des Geldes. Geld dient als Recheneinheit, als allgemeines Tauschmittel (oder besser Wertubertragungsmittel) und als Wertaufbewahrungsmittel1. derstaat mus deshalb mittels seiner Rechtsordnung zumindest die Wahrungseinheit festsetzen und das Geld als Wertubertragungs- und Wertaufbewahrungsmittel ausstatten. Hinzu kommt die Schaffung eines funktionsfahigen Geld- und Kreditwesens2.
Cardiac Rehabilitation: The Nutrition Counseling Component

Cardiac rehabilitation following a cardiac event is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary program that includes lifestyle counseling in nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and smoking cessation. Special concerns that can affect implementation of cardiac rehabilitation in older patients include complicated co-morbidities; functional limitations, alterations in taste, smell, and appetite; difficulties with medication use/effectiveness; and limited financial, social, and/or caregiver resources. Recommendations for dietary modification in cardiac rehabilitation include advice to increase the intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, to substitute non-hydrogenated unsaturated fats for saturated and trans-fats, and to increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids.
Time-dependent deformation of stitched T300 mat/urethane 420 IMR cross-ply composite laminates

This article concerns certain aspects of the time-dependent response ofcross-ply polymeric composites consisting of stitched graphite fiberstrands embedded in urethane resin. Experimental data were collected atseveral levels of stress and temperature, as well as at various loadorientations. The time-dependent strains were shown to consist of thesum of a fully recoverable viscoelastic component and a permanentportion, which could be expressed empirically. The utility andshortcomings of the power-law creep form are being examined, suggestingthat its validity for making long term predictions may require that`short time' data must be collected over durations that exceed a certaintime-span.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Molecular Structure Dynamics (R. H. Austin 1 )

In Part ref Part III we discussed in some detail the evidence for and importance of protein structural dynamics in light of a free-energy landscape. However, there is a major problem with the powerhouse technique of X-ray crystallography that we discussed in Chapter 25: The proteins are locked into a crystal structure. If many proteins really need to make large conformational changes for their biological function, then it is worrisome that the structures we obtain from X-ray crystallography are static and possibly not fully functional structures. While it is possible to obtain a fair amount of dynamic information about proteins from X-ray crystallography using the Debye-Waller factors, it still is by no means the whole picture. The analogy might be to a person tied down in a chair, with a gag in the mouth. The person can struggle to get out; by looking at the little wiggles of the body as the person struggles to get free (these are the Debye-Waller factors), you might get some idea of how that person moves when free, but you will have no idea if the person is a world-class sprinter or a world-class mountain climber, quite different motions! Until fairly recently, it was very difficult to obtain 3-D structures of biomolecules in their native habitat (that is, in a solvent) at high (0.1 nm) resolution. Now, we are beginning to do this, and much more: We are beginning to chart their motions. In this chapter we try to give the reader a brief introduction to this exciting development.
Double Standards in Medical Research in Developing Countries: Respecting, protecting, and fulfilling human rights

It is not uncommon to hear people refer to all sorts of bad situations as violations of human rights. The term “human rights” is often used quite loosely, divorced from its narrow yet correct meaning that refers to provisions in various international declarations and treaties issued under the auspices of the United Nations. As one public health lawyer observes: The fields of ethics and human rights share an abiding belief in the paramount importance of individual rights and interests, but beyond that, their perspectives diverge. While legal scholars stress the importance of treaty obligations, ethicists seldom refer to international law doctrine. It is, of course, true that there are all sorts of legal rights, as well as moral rights, that pertain to human beings in general, as well as in the specific context of research. But this wide array of general rights are only human rights in the sense that they apply to humans and not, say, animals. The strict meaning of “human rights” refers chiefly to those rights stipulated in documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979). In addition, human rights lawyers maintain that human rights can be identified in international custom and treaties, the decisions of treaty bodies, and organizations that contain human rights as a central aspect of their mandate. Treaty laws may become customary international law if widely enough observed. The discussion of human rights in this chapter accords with this meaning of the term, as elucidated by human rights lawyers.
Nonhuman primate species as models of human bacterial sepsis

Sepsis involves a disordered host response to systemic infection leading to high morbidity and mortality. Despite intense research, targeted sepsis therapies beyond antibiotics have remained elusive. The cornerstone of sepsis research is the development of animal models to mimic human bacterial infections and test novel pharmacologic targets. Nonhuman primates (NHPs) have served as an attractive, but expensive, animal to model human bacterial infections due to their nearly identical cardiopulmonary anatomy and physiology, as well as host response to infection. Several NHP species have provided substantial insight into sepsis-mediated inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, acute lung injury, and multi-organ failure. The use of NHPs has usually focused on translating therapies from early preclinical models to human clinical trials. However, despite successful sepsis interventions in NHP models, there are still no FDA-approved sepsis therapies. This review highlights major NHP models of bacterial sepsis and their relevance to clinical medicine. Treatment for bacterial sepsis remains limited beyond the use of antibiotics. Lingye Chen, Karen Welty-Wolf, and Bryan Kraft review nonhuman primate models of sepsis and highlight their advantages and limitations compared to other preclinical models.
Am I a Strong Person

My family and friends (and even my doctor!) think I’m a strong person, but I don’t see it that way. I just do what I need to do to get through each day. Taking care of my family, friends, and sometimes even complete strangers is actually what keeps me going.
Space charge control of point defect spin states in AlN

One barrier to developing quantum information systems based on impurity point defects is that the desirable spin states of the defects are often unstable for Fermi levels obtained at increased impurity concentrations. The space charge induced band bending near the interface of Si/Mg aluminum nitride (AlN) homojunction is investigated computationally as a method to control the concentration, spin state, and position of such point defects. This is done by solving Poisson's equation with the charge density described by a grand canonical defect chemistry model informed by hybrid-functional density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Previous experimental works have found unintentional carbon and oxygen impurities pervade AlN homojunctions. First principles calculations have predicted the neutral complex between an aluminum vacancy and oxygen impurity on a neighboring nitrogen site (vAl-1ON)0 has a spin triplet configuration, which is stable in a region when the Fermi level is below midgap. From defect equilibrium simulations considering 602 possible defects, vAl-1ON was found to be unstable on the Mg-doped side of the homojunction and isolated oxygen impurities are preferred. On the Si-doped side, vAl-1ON forms but as (vAl-1ON)–2, not (vAl-1ON)0. This makes vAl-1ON a prototypical test case for the proposed strategy. Simulations of the Si/Mg:AlN homojunction showed (vAl-1ON)0 is stabilized within 6 nm of the interface in the Si-doped portion. This result indicates space charge induced band bending enables control over the concentration, spin state, and position of point defects, which is critical to realizing point defect based quantum information systems.
Factors predicting for patient refusal of head and neck cancer therapy

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the national rate of treatment refusal in head and neck cancer (HNC). METHODS The National Cancer Database was queried for nonmetastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Oncologic therapy referred to receipt of surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. RESULTS Compared to the 230 424 patients who received treatment, 2965 (1.3%) were reported to have refused definitive therapy. Predictors included older age, female sex, African-American/other race, nonprivate insurance, greater comorbidities, more advanced disease, and residence closer to the treating facility (P < .05). Patients with a prior history of cancer, Hispanic race, those treated at academic centers, and those from higher income counties were less likely to refuse therapy (P < .05). Patients who refused definitive therapy experienced poorer survival (median 79.1 vs 8.7 months, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Refusing oncologic therapy is relatively rare in HNC and appears to be multifocal in nature.
Food Allergy in Adults: Presentations, Evaluation, and Treatment.

Food allergy presents in all ages and has a significant impact on an individual's quality of life. Some of the food allergies that start in childhood remain into adulthood and new-onset allergies can occur at any point of life. Health care providers caring for adult patients should be aware of various food allergy presentations and syndromes. In this article, the authors cover recent literature on food allergies in adults and discuss the epidemiology of adult food allergy as well as common clinical scenarios and presentations of various types of food allergies.
The Plastic Surgery Social Media Influencer: Ethical Considerations and a Literature Review.

Background Social media use has become a relevant tool in plastic surgery. These platforms are utilized for many reasons, such as business promotion. Although beneficial, social media can cause ethical dilemmas if used incorrectly. Objectives A review of the literature revealed what is understood about the implications of social media in regards to sponsorship/promotion. This paper aimed to create the foundation surrounding this topic and help facilitate future discussions on this new ethical dilemma. Methods A MEDLINE search with a custom publication date range and a review of the literature was conducted on June 15, 2019. Results The search yielded 139 articles and abstracts. After review, 26 publications were chosen for analysis. Articles were taken from the following journals: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (n = 12), Aesthetic Surgery Journal (n = 8), PRS Global Open (n = 2), Annals of Plastic Surgery (n = 1), BMJ (n = 1), AMA Journal of Ethics (n = 1), and Facial Plastic Surgery (n = 1). The 4 principles of medical ethics were analyzed in respect to promotion and sponsorship in plastic surgery. Conclusions Social media is a novel platform that is becoming increasingly utilized in plastic surgery. Although its impact can be beneficial, it is not well understood in the context of social media sponsorship and promotion. To date, no peer-reviewed articles specifically discuss these limitations. It is critical that all plastic surgeons be cognizant of both the positive and negative aspects of social media before integrating it into their professional lives.
Abstract 113: Regulatory T Cells Contribute to Sexual Dimorphic Outcomes After Acute Ischemic Brain Injury

Introduction: The contribution of CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) to acute stroke outcomes has been controversially reported in young male murine models of stroke, their effects in female stro...
Hybrid dictionary learning-Ica approaches built on novel instantaneous dynamic connectivity metric provide new multiscale insights into dynamic brain connectivity

The study of brain network connectivity as a time‐varying property began relatively recently and to date has remained primarily concerned with capturing a handful of discrete static states that characterize connectivity as measured on a timescale shorter than that of the full scan. Capturing representations of temporally evolving patterns of connectivity is a challenging and important next step in fully leveraging the information available in fMRI data. We introduce a constellation of interrelated data‐driven methods that hierarchically employ multichannel 1D sparse convolutional dictionary learning (SCDL) and independent component analysis (ICA) for extracting multiscale time‐varying representations of functional network connectivity (FNC). This work also relies upon a novel wavelet‐based method for computing dynamically varying FNC (dFNC) at each timepoint in the scan, yielding a much more resolved picture of evolving connectivity than currently popular sliding‐window approaches. The methods are validated in application to a large multisite fMRI study of schizophrenia where they expose properties of time‐varying connectivity in schizophrenia patients vs. controls that are surprising based on long‐accepted theories of the disorder.
Recognizing hidden environmental and social costs and reducing ecological and societal damage through tax, price, and subsidy reform

Indirect, unpriced environmental and social costs of human activities in the United States amount to several trillion dollars each year. By accounting for these costs and shifting some of the tax burden from work to waste, it would be possible to protect the environment and benefit society and the economy.
Microstructure Design for a Turbine Disk

Texture has a significant influence on the elastic, plastic, and crack propagation response of crystalline materials. One element of Microstructure Sensitive Design (MSD) [1] is to incorporate texture into the calculation of material properties and to design the material texture such that an optimal material response is obtained. Recent research has placed its focus on generating an interface between the MSD material model and standard computer aided engineering software. The MSD interface (MSDi) would provide to the designer and the design software the needed texture dependent material properties and allow the designer to explore the influence of texture on the performance of the design. The scope of the current paper is to present a case study where such an interface is used with traditional engineering software to optimize the geometric shape and the texture of a cubic material that comprise a turbine disk.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Operative Delay in Adults with Appendicitis: Time is Money.

Abstract Background Evidence suggests that operative delay of up to 24 h is not associated with adverse outcomes among patients undergoing emergent appendectomy. However, the fiscal implication of operative delay is not well described in adults. We sought to examine the effect of delayed appendectomy on clinical outcomes and hospital cost. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing nonelective laparoscopic appendectomy from 2014 to 2018 at both a tertiary care center and an affiliated short-stay hospital. Using a unique data set constructed from merged electronic health record and patient-level hospital financial data, patients with delayed surgery, defined as >12 h from emergency department (ED) arrival to operation, were compared with patients who underwent surgery within 12 h. Patient-specific variables were analyzed for their association with resource utilization, and subsequent multivariable linear regression was performed for total hospital cost. Results 1372 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy during the study period. 938 patients (68.3%) underwent surgery within 12 h of ED arrival, and 434 patients (31.6%) underwent delayed surgery. Delayed cases had longer length of stay (44.6 ± 42.5 versus 34.5 ± 36.5 h, P Conclusions Although safe, delayed appendectomy is associated with an increased length of stay and increased total hospital costs compared with appendectomy within 12 h of reaching the ED.
Negative Correlation Between Health Care Coverage and Postpartum Depression Among Hispanic Women.

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects women across all races with serious health consequences for mothers and infants. Maternal factors may increase PPD risk, but research in exclusive Hispanic popul...
Gender, Language and Ideology: A Genealogy of Japanese Women’s Language Momoko Nakamura (2014)

Gender, Language and Ideology: A Genealogy of Japanese Women’s Language Momoko Nakamura (2014) Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 253 pp.
Initial Presentation of a Pediatric Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction Episode After SARS-CoV-2 Virus (COVID-19) Infection

Pediatric intestinal pseudo-obstruction (PIPO) is an umbrella term describing disorders characterized by gastrointestinal (GI) dysmotility with variable course, severity, and onset. PIPO may account for up to 15% of pediatric intestinal failure cases, which can lead to use of parenteral nutrition (PN) supplementation, intestinal transplantation, and sometimes intestinal resection or the creation of ostomies (1,2). Patients present with symptoms of bowel obstruction in the absence of a mechanical etiology (3). Children with PIPO may also have involvement of smooth muscle viscera, including megacystis with polyhydramnios. The ESPGHAN consensus statement on diagnosis of PIPO requires at least 2 of the following 4 criteria: objective measure of small intestinal neuromuscular involvement, recurrent or persistently dilated loops of small intestine with air-fluid levels, genetic abnormalities, and the inability to maintain adequate nutrition or growth with enteral feeding (4,5). Recent advances in whole-exome sequencing have identified several mutations that can be pathogenic, commonly including the ACTG2 gene (1,3). Viral infections may alter the integrity of the enteric neuromuscular system and play a role in the development of pseudo-obstruction (6). Several case reports over the last 2 decades have reported Epstein-Barr, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster, and John Cunningham viral illnesses to be the causal agent of PIPO episodes, possibly due to acquired hypoganglionosis, myopathy, or neuropathy (7,8). While it has been suggested that infections, general anesthesia, psychologic stress, and poor nutritional status may serve as precipitating factors to exacerbations, triggers are largely unpredictable and unknown (9). The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or COVID-19, is a single-stranded RNA virus with emerging evidence for significant GI involvement. Several recent publications have found that 9%–20% of COVID-19 patients experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, hepatic inflammation, or abdominal pain (10). We believe this virus may also represent a potential trigger for PIPO episodes.
A Finer Calibration Analysis for Adversarial Robustness.

We present a more general analysis of $H$-calibration for adversarially robust classification. By adopting a finer definition of calibration, we can cover settings beyond the restricted hypothesis sets studied in previous work. In particular, our results hold for most common hypothesis sets used in machine learning. We both fix some previous calibration results (Bao et al., 2020) and generalize others (Awasthi et al., 2021). Moreover, our calibration results, combined with the previous study of consistency by Awasthi et al. (2021), also lead to more general $H$-consistency results covering common hypothesis sets.
Construction Wearable Technology- Smart Work Boots

In the contemporary era every industry is enhancing by using Internet of things, it is one of fear may arise construction industry is left far behind the other industry. That is why construction industry should start utilizing advance technologies offered by IOT to ascertain the smoothness and fastest progress of the construction process. The Internet of Things (IoT) brought on the revolution of wearable, connected devices - yet, for industrial and remote workers these devices are still limited by form factor, battery life, and weight. Managers whose employees are frequently in hazardous and unpredictable environments need an efficient way to monitor the status and location of their employees. This paper clearly discusses how smart work boots will decline construction fatality rates.
What Makes Videos Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired People

User-generated videos are an increasingly important source of information online, yet most online videos are inaccessible to blind and visually impaired (BVI) people. To find videos that are accessible, or understandable without additional description of the visual content, BVI people in our formative studies reported that they used a time-consuming trial-and-error approach: clicking on a video, watching a portion, leaving the video, and repeating the process. BVI people also reported video accessibility heuristics that characterize accessible and inaccessible videos. We instantiate 7 of the identified heuristics (2 audio-related, 2 video-related, and 3 audio-visual) as automated metrics to assess video accessibility. We collected a dataset of accessibility ratings of videos by BVI people and found that our automatic video accessibility metrics correlated with the accessibility ratings (Adjusted R2 = 0.642). We augmented a video search interface with our video accessibility metrics and predictions. BVI people using our augmented video search interface selected an accessible video more efficiently than when using the original search interface. By integrating video accessibility metrics, video hosting platforms could help people surface accessible videos and encourage content creators to author more accessible products, improving video accessibility for all.
Sifilografía: a history of the writerly pox in the eighteenth-century Hispanic world: by Juan Carlos González Espitia, Charlottesville, VA, University of Virginia Press, 2019, 395 pp., $90.00 (hardback), ISBN 9780813943152

This erudite and beautifully illustrated volume provides readers with a truly encyclopedic tapestry comprising innumerable strands of Enlightenment writings on syphilis. Gonzalez Espitia observes t...
Wild Women of the Old West

Presents the sensational lives and exploits of nine notorious women from the days of boisterous frontier saloons and high-noon showdowns.
Association of complementary and alternative medicine use with symptoms and physical functional performance among adults with arthritis

Background Research shows high prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in individuals with arthritis. Little is known about CAM use and objectively measured physical functional performance.
The Image Processing Toolbox at a Glance

This chapter contains sections titled: The Image Processing Toolbox: an Overview Essential Functions and Features Tutorial 4.1: MATLAB Image Processing Toolbox??????-??????a Guided Tour Tutorial 4.2: Basic Image Manipulation Problems ]]>
Wound closure technique and acute wound complications in gastric surgery for morbid obesity: a prospective randomized trial.

Abstract Background: During the past 10 years, numerous clinical studies have supported the use of continuous monofilament fascial closure after laparotomy. Because of the increased incidence of surgical-site infections and other acute wound complications in the morbidly obese, these patients are well suited for a study of technical factors that may affect the frequency of these wound complications. Study Design: A prospective, randomized study of the midline fascial closure technique in gastric bariatric operations was conducted between 1991 and 1998 in 331 consecutive morbidly obese patients. At the time of closure of the upper midline laparotomy wound, the patients were randomized into two groups: Group I patients (n = 172) underwent continuous fascial closure and group II patients (n = 159) underwent interrupted fascial closure. All patients received prophylactic antibiotics in a similar fashion. Wounds were monitored for 30 days postoperatively, and acute wound complications were classified as superficial or deep. Superficial complications included superficial surgical-site infections, seromas, and hematomas. In all superficial complications, the fascia remained uninvolved and intact. Deep wound complications included deep surgical-site infections and fascial dehiscence. Results: A total of 49 acute wound complications occurred (15%). There were 22 superficial (7%) and 27 deep (8%) wound complications in the 331 in the patients studied. Group I patients experienced fewer total wound complications than group II patients (18 versus 31; p=0.021). Group I patients also experienced fewer deep wound complications than group II (5 versus 22; p=0.003). Conclusions: Continuous fascial closure reduces major acute wound complications in morbidly obese patients undergoing gastric operations for obesity.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Likelihood of Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery.

Background A major contributor to the increase in cesarean deliveries over recent decades is the decline in vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC). Racial and ethnic disparities in other perinatal outcomes are widely recognized, but few studies have been directed toward racial/ethnic differences in VBAC rates. Methods We used the population-based Massachusetts Pregnancy to Early Life (PELL) database to investigate racial/ethnic differences in rates of VBAC for Massachusetts residents with one prior cesarean from 1998 to 2008. Results The overall VBAC rate was 17.3 percent. After adjusting for demographic, behavioral, and medical risk factors, non-Hispanic Asian mothers had a greater likelihood of VBAC than non-Hispanic white mothers (adjusted risk ratio 1.31 [95% CI 1.23–1.39]). No other racial/ethnic group was significantly different from non-Hispanic whites in adjusted analyses. The likelihood of VBAC also decreased with increasing maternal age. Discussion Non-Hispanic Asian women are significantly more likely to have VBAC than non-Hispanic white women. Efforts to reduce cesarean delivery rates in the United States should address these disparities. Future research should investigate factors underlying these differences to ensure that all women have access to appropriate maternity care services.
REGIONAL CIRCULATORY RESPONSES IN 2–4 WEEK-OLD PIGLETS: EFFECTS OF FEEDING AND HEMORRHAGE (H)

Responses of the superior mesenteric(Mes), femoral(Fem) and renal(Ren) arterial blood flows(F) to feeding(Group I, n=20) and to feeding after a 15% blood volume H, (Group II, n=10) were examined in lightly anesthetized, artificially ventilated piglets. F were registered with electromagnetic probes pre- and postprandially for 2 hrs. EKG, heart rate and aortic pressure were continuously monitored. Regional vascular resistances(R) were calculated. Commercially formulated milk, 26 ml/kg, were given by gavage. Significant fall in pulse pressure(PP) occurred to H. After attaining a steady state following H; feeding protocol was carried out. Significant results (Mean±SE) are:
Some Examples of ConjugateP-Harmonic Differential Forms

Abstract There has been new interest developing in the study of the Hodge theory and p -harmonic differential forms in recent years, largely pertaining to applications in quasi-conformal analysis, electromagnetic theory, relativity theory, mathematical physics, nonlinear potential theory, etc. In this paper, we develop an effective method to find conjugate p -harmonic differential forms in R n by applying Hodge theory in calculations with the p -harmonic equation. As applications of the method, we obtain some interesting examples of conjugate p -harmonic differential forms.
Object category classification using occluding contours

Occluding contour (OC) plays important roles in many computer vision tasks. The study of using OC for visual inference tasks is however limited, partially due to the lack of robust OC acquisition technologies. In this work, benefit from a novel OC computation system, we propose applying OC information to category classification tasks. Specifically, given an image and its estimated occluding contours, we first compute a distance map with regard to the OCs. This map is then used to filter out distracting information in the image. The results are combined with standard recognition methods, bag-of-visual-words in our experiments, for category classification. In addition to the approach, we also present two OC datasets, which to the best of our knowledge are the first publicly available ones. The proposed method is evaluated on both datasets for category classification tasks. In all experiments, the proposed method significantly improves classification performances by about 10 percent.
Ability to Generate Patient-Derived Breast Cancer Xenografts Is Enhanced in Chemoresistant Disease and Predicts Poor Patient Outcomes

Background Breast cancer patients who are resistant to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NeoCT) have a poor prognosis. There is a pressing need to develop in vivo models of chemo resistant tumors to test novel therapeutics. We hypothesized that patient-derived breast cancer xenografts (BCXs) from chemo- naive and chemotherapy-exposed tumors can provide high fidelity in vivo models for chemoresistant breast cancers. Methods Patient tumors and BCXs were characterized with short tandem repeat DNA fingerprinting, reverse phase protein arrays, molecular inversion probe arrays, and next generation sequencing. Results Forty-eight breast cancers (24 post-chemotherapy, 24 chemo-naive) were implanted and 13 BCXs were established (27%). BCX engraftment was higher in TNBC compared to hormone-receptor positive cancer (53.8% vs. 15.6%, p = 0.02), in tumors from patients who received NeoCT (41.7% vs. 8.3%, p = 0.02), and in patients who had progressive disease on NeoCT (85.7% vs. 29.4%, p = 0.02). Twelve patients developed metastases after surgery; in five, BCXs developed before distant relapse. Patients whose tumors developed BCXs had a lower recurrence-free survival (p = 0.015) and overall survival (p<0.001). Genomic losses and gains could be detected in the BCX, and three models demonstrated a transformation to induce mouse tumors. However, overall, somatic mutation profiles including potential drivers were maintained upon implantation and serial passaging. One BCX model was cultured in vitro and re-implanted, maintaining its genomic profile. Conclusions BCXs can be established from clinically aggressive breast cancers, especially in TNBC patients with poor response to NeoCT. Future studies will determine the potential of in vivo models for identification of genotype-phenotype correlations and individualization of treatment.
Design and parallel testing of wafer scale linear arrays with high harvest rates

Design for high harvest rates and parallel on-wafer diagnosis of linear arrays are described. A generalized loop-based approach to defect-tolerant wafer scale linear arrays is presented. In terms of harvest rate, the loop-based approach is significantly better than the traditional spiral approaches. Similar to the spiral approaches, the loop-based approach guarantees a fixed propagation delay between any logically consecutive cells after reconfiguration, independent of the fault distribution. However, the propagation delay is larger than that of the spiral approaches. Simulation-based harvest rates for four loop-based approaches are described. Application of boundary scan to parallel testing and on-wafer diagnosis of the arrays is also presented. >
Ultrastructure of the Testis and Epididymis of Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) Administered Gossypol

Abstract When Japanese quail were given gossypol acetic acid intramuscularly at 25 mg/kg body weight per day for 9 days, testis/body weights were reduced to 63% of those of controls. Lumina of the seminiferous tubules became smaller but were packed with tails of spermatids. Mitochondria of spermatids changed in shape from elongated to round. After administration of gossypol for 21 days, testis/body weights were 14% of those of controls. Lumina of seminiferous tubules were completely collapsed, germinal epithelia became much thinner, and basal lamina of the germinal epithelium underwent extensive ruffling. Although primary spermatocytes were seen, neither spermatids nor sperm were present. The cytoplasm of germinal epithelial cells was packed with numerous lipid droplets. At Day 8 of withdrawal following 21 days of gossypol administration, testis/body weights were 23% of those of controls. Reduced numbers of lipid inclusions and partial recovery of spermatogenesis in the testis were observed. In the epididymal region, epithelial cells of the ductuli efferentes progressively accumulated lipid droplets, and luminal collapse was seen after 21 days of gossypol administration. After gossypol administration for 21 days, no sperm were found in the ductus epididymidis, the lumina were collapsed, and microvilli of the epithelial cells were lost. At Day 8 of withdrawal after 21 days of gossypol administration, lipid content was reduced in the ductuli efferentes. The lumina of the ductus epididymidis were open, but no spermatozoa were seen. These observations indicate that gossypol severely altered tissues of the quail testis and epididymal region. However, this alteration seems to be reversible.
Protection of Murine L1210 Leukemia and Bone Marrow Progenitor Cells Against Mechlorethamine and Inhibition of Choline Uptake as a Structure–Activity Relationship of 2-Dimethylaminoethanol and Its Analogues

The structure-activity relationships of 2-dimethylaminoethanol and its analogues as protectors against mechlorethamine cytotoxicity and as inhibitors of choline uptake were evaluated. Of a series of inhibitors and protectors, 2-dimethylaminoethanol was the most potent inhibitor of choline uptake and the most potent protector of both hematopoietic progenitor cells and murine L1210 leukemia cells. Two analogues that exhibited both potent protection and inhibition were 1-dimethylamino-2-propanol and 2-ethylmethylaminoethanol. 2-Di-n-butylaminoethanol, while protecting against mechlorethamine cytotoxicity, was not an inhibitor of choline uptake. 2-n-Butylmethylaminoethanol, while an inhibitor of choline uptake, was not a protector against mechlorethamine cytotoxicity. Addition of 2-dimethylaminoethanol to mechlorethamine in a mole ratio of 1000:1 did not improve survival of tumor-bearing mice beyond that of mice treated with mechlorethamine alone.
Soft Modes, Critical Fluctuations, and Optical Properties for a Two-Valley Model of Gunn-Instability Semiconductors

The frequency- and field-dependent dielectric constant $\ensuremath{\epsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega},E)$ has been calculated for the uniform-field state of a two-valley model of Gunn-instability semiconductors, using a phenomenological approach based on momentum balance and particle conservation. In this model, four plasma modes are obtained as solutions of $\ensuremath{\epsilon}({\ensuremath{\omega}}_{p},E)=0$, and the dependence of all four modes on the electric field has been determined. We show that in the neighborhood of each of the critical fields ${E}_{c1}$ and ${E}_{c2}$ defined by ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{0}({E}_{c1,2})=0$, where ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{0}$ is the dc differential conductivity, the frequency of one of the plasma modes is purely imaginary and goes to zero as $E\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{E}_{c1}$ and $E\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{E}_{c2}$, the mode becoming unstable for $Eg{E}_{c1}$ and $El{E}_{c2}$, respectively. Critical fluctuations associated with the soft modes have been investigated. The density, current, and field fluctuations become temporally long-range as $E\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{E}_{c1,2}$. The field (voltage) noise spectrum becomes sharply peaked at $\ensuremath{\omega}=0$ in these limits. We have also calculated the field dependence of the optical properties for frequencies in the neighborhood of the zero-field plasma frequency and in the low-frequency region. At the critical fields the medium becomes nonabsorptive in the zero-frequency limit.
Pressure and Angiotensin II Influence the Mechanical Properties of Aortic Valves

Abstract Elevated cyclic pressure and angiotensin II (Ang II) both promote aortic valve collagen synthesis, an early hallmark of aortic sclerosis. In the current study, it was hypothesized that the increased collagen production induced by either elevated pressure or Ang II would increase tissue stiffness. Porcine aortic valve leaflets were randomly assigned to four groups; leaflets in group 1 were treated with 10-6M Ang II, leaflets in group 2 were exposed to 80 or 120 mmHg cyclic pressure, leaflets in group 3 were treated with Ang II and exposed to cyclic pressure and leaflets in group 4 were the control. Biaxial testing was performed after 24 and 48 hours on 10mm x 10mm samples of tissue dissected from the central region of the leaflets. Four fiducial markers arranged in an approximately 4 mm x 4 mm square were placed in the center of the extracted portion of the leaflets to track tissue strain. A membrane tension (force/unit length) was applied along each axis and increased slowly from a pre-stress tension of ~0.5 N/m to a peak tension of 60 N/m. The samples were preconditioned for ten contiguous cycles, following an equibiaxial protocol of TCC:TRR = 60:60 N/m, where TCC and TRR are the tensions applied in the circumferential and radial directions, respectively. Tissue extensibility was characterized by maximum stretch along the circumferential direction (λcc) and maximum stretch along the radial direction (λrr), at an equibiaxial tension of 60 N/m. Leaflet stiffness was greater in the circumferential direction than in the radial direction, which is consistent with previous studies. The peak stretches of native valves were calculated as 1.05±0.02 and 1.40±0.02 in the circumferential and radial directions, respectively. There was no significant difference in the stiffness of native valves compared to those exposed to 0mmHg(-Ang II) or 80mmHg(-Ang II) for 24 or 48 hours. Elevated pressure increased stiffness in both directions after 24 and 48 hours. After 24 and 48 hours Ang II significantly increased stiffness in the radial direction. The combination of Ang II and elevated pressure increased stiffness in radial direction after 24 and 48 hours. Increased stiffness may be due to remodeling of the ECM. Excessive collagen production is known to hinder valve function, eventually resulting in aortic stenosis. In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrated that both elevated pressure and Ang II play a role in the increased stiffness of aortic valve leaflets.
Monetary neutrality in a dynamic macroeconomic model under alternative monetary regimes

Abstract This paper explores the neutrality of money under alternative stochastic monetary regimes in a simple growth model. The key result is that changes in monetary information lead to differing responses in prices and inflation. The key parameter is the transition between monetary states. LeRoy (1984) showed that money was neutral in the sense of Brock (1975) when monetary growth rates were serially independent and non-neutral otherwise. Under an alternative monetary regime where the money supply is allowed to decrease, this information does not matter, as money is always non-neutral, even under the same transition structure as LeRoy used.
Assessment of ``Juvenile Psychopathy'' and Its Association with Violence: A Critical Review

Interest in the construct of psychopathy as it applies to children and adolescents has become an area of considerable research interest in the past 5-10 years, in part due to the clinical utility of psychopathy as a predictor of violence among adult offenders. Despite interest in "juvenile psychopathy" in general and its relationship to violence in particular, relatively few studies specifically have examined whether operationalizations of this construct among children and adolescents predict various forms of aggression. This article critically reviews this literature, as well as controversies regarding the assessment of adult psychopathic "traits" among juveniles. Existing evidence indicates a moderate association between measures of psychopathy and various forms of aggression, suggesting that this construct may be relevant for purposes of short-term risk appraisal and management among juveniles. However, due to the enormous developmental changes that occur during adolescence and the absence of longitudinal research on the stability of this construct (and its association with violence), we conclude that reliance on psychopathy measures to make decisions regarding long-term placements for juveniles is contraindicated at this time.
TITRATION BEHAVIOR OF BOVINE THROMBIN.

The titration curve of bovine thrombin in 0.1 M KCl has been determined. In the initial titration with acid away from neutral pH there was a sharp break in the titration curve at pH 3.8 due to the uptake of 5 protons per molecule, there being a similar discontinuity with the liberation of 5 protons per molecule at pH 9 during the back-titration with acid of an alkaline (pH 9.1–11.0) solution of thrombin which had not previously been subjected to acid conditions. After these changes, neither of which was reversible, hysteresis was observed over the complete pH range studied (2.5–11.0). Dissociation is believed to be responsible for the discontinuity at pH 3.8, molecular weight estimations yielding values of 40,000 and 10,000 at pH 7.0 and 2.5, respectively. At both pH values the sedimentation data suggested the presence of monomers and polymers in rapid equilibrium. Since such equilibria are frequently pH dependent, and any change in the degree of association may well give rise to a term of unknown magnitude in the calculated number of protons dissociated per molecule, classic interpretation of the titration data has not been attempted.