cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analog computer simulates heart response to nerve stimulation

Because the heart is a dynamic system whose rate changes with stimuli and time, it lends itself well to study by means of the analog computer. Experiments have been made on both the steady-state and dynamic response of the heart to vagal and sympathetic nerve stimulation The human heart is a very complex muscle-pump system which is controlled from several different areas of the body and by many factors. Because of the experimental difficulties and the complexity of the system itself, no complete mechanical or electrical model of the system has been constructed.
Small bank loan quality in a deregulated environment: the information advantage hypothesis

Abstract A number of studies and banking practitioners have questioned the ability of small banks to survive in a deregulated environment. We consider the hypothesis that small community banks actually have an information advantage in evaluating and monitoring loan quality. We call this the information advantage hypothesis (IAH). We evaluate four loan quality measures for a sample of all Florida banks for the period 1986 to 1996. There is no systematic evidence that loan quality is greater at small banks. Both net chargeoffs and loan loss provisions are lower at small banks in non metropolitan areas than at other banks, which is consistent with the IAH. However, other measures of loan quality—nonperforming loans and other real estate owned—are higher at small banks.
Low-Delay Signal Processing for Digital Hearing Aids

Digital signal processing in modern hearing aids is typically performed in a subband or transform domain that introduces analysis-synthesis delays in the forward path. Long forward-path delays are not desirable because the processed sound combines with the unprocessed sound that arrives at the cochlea through the vent and changes the sound quality. Nonetheless, subband domain processing for digital hearing aids is the most popular choice for hearing aids because of the associated computational simplicity. In this paper, we present an alternative digital hearing aid structure with low-delay characteristics. The central idea in the paper is a low-delay spectral gain shaping method (SGSM) that employs parallel parametric equalization (EQ) filters. The low-delay SGSM provides frequency-dependent amplification for hearing loss compensation with low forward path delays and performs dynamic signal processing such as noise suppression and dynamic range compression. Parameters of the parametric EQ filters and associated gain values are selected using a least-squares approach to obtain the desired spectral response. The low-delay structure also employs an off-the-forward-path, frequency domain adaptive filter to perform acoustic feedback cancellation. Extensive MATLAB simulations and subjective evaluations of the results indicate that the method of this paper is competent with a state-of-the-art digital hearing aid system, but exhibits much smaller forward-path delays.
Performing Carbon's Materiality: The Production of Carbon Offsets and the Framing of Exchange

In this paper I provide a first-hand account of a trip designed to verify the existence of a carbon forestry offset in Costa Rica. In so doing, I reflect on how various actors become the stabilized calculative agents of scientists, state bureaucrats, indigenous leaders, GPS devices, trees, signs, and field reports that such trips require. In addition, I show how various articulations of these actors, and their emergent agencies, simultaneously maintains both the carbon offset as a commodity object as well as a field of action and communication that allows for such an object to be exchanged. In short, I consider the verification of an offset as a performance. Doing so, I examine the agency of some actors in this process, and account for the uneven power relations inherent in such a process. Specifically, I advance three arguments. First, the agency of actors is constituted, in part, by various calculative devices, which themselves simultaneously occupy an unstable position of being both a material object and an abstraction. Second, the normative power of the performance I witnessed derives from its relation to the abject: spaces and ways of being that are unintelligible to the logics of offsetting that nonetheless serve to further reiterate the need for an offset's calculative frame. Third, performing an offset is a self-reflexive process, and it is through the self-reflexivity of actors involved that the qualities of 'the forest' emerge in ways that confound the stability of an offset commodity. In this way, the biophysical qualities of the forest are not necessarily barriers to its commodification. Instead, it is the reflexive practices inherent in performing 'the economic' that can serve to confound the emergence of the commodified forest.
Vascular consequences of dietary salt intake.

Animal and human studies support an untoward effect of excess dietary NaCl (salt) intake on cardiovascular and renal function and life span. Recent work has promoted the concept that the endothelium, in particular, reacts to changes in dietary salt intake through a complex series of events that are independent of blood pressure and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis. The cellular signaling events culminate in the intravascular production of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and nitric oxide in response to increased salt intake. Plasticity of the endothelium is integral in the vascular remodeling consequences associated with excess salt intake, because nitric oxide serves as a negative regulator of TGF-β production. Impairment of nitric oxide production, such as occurs with endothelial dysfunction in a variety of disease states, results in unopposed excess vascular TGF-β production, which promotes reduced vascular compliance and augmented peripheral arterial constriction and hypertension. Persistent alterations in vascular function promote the increase in cardiovascular events and reductions in renal function that reduce life span during increased salt intake.
A new strategy to reduce allelic bias in RNA-Seq readmapping

Accurate estimation of expression levels from RNA-Seq data entails precise mapping of the sequence reads to a reference genome. Because the standard reference genome contains only one allele at any given locus, reads overlapping polymorphic loci that carry a non-reference allele are at least one mismatch away from the reference and, hence, are less likely to be mapped. This bias in read mapping leads to inaccurate estimates of allele-specific expression (ASE). To address this read-mapping bias, we propose the construction of an enhanced reference genome that includes the alternative alleles at known polymorphic loci. We show that mapping to this enhanced reference reduced the read-mapping biases, leading to more reliable estimates of ASE. Experiments on simulated data show that the proposed strategy reduced the number of loci with mapping bias by 63% when compared with a previous approach that relies on masking the polymorphic loci and by 18% when compared with the standard approach that uses an unaltered reference. When we applied our strategy to actual RNA-Seq data, we found that it mapped up to 15% more reads than the previous approaches and identified many seemingly incorrect inferences made by them.
Synthesis and Device Applications of High-Density Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Using Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition and Stacked Multiple Transfer

For nanotube-based electronics to become a viable alternative to silicon technology, high-density aligned carbon nanotubes are essential. In this paper, we report the combined use of low-pressure chemical vapor deposition and stacked multiple transfer to achieve high-density aligned nanotubes. By using an optimized nanotube synthesis recipe, we have achieved high-density aligned carbon nanotubes with density as high as 30 tubes/μm. In addition, a facile stacked multiple transfer technique has been developed to further increase the nanotube density to 55 tubes/μm. Furthermore, high-performance submicron carbon nanotube field-effect transistors have been fabricated on the high-density aligned nanotubes. Before removing the metallic nanotubes by electrical breakdown, the devices exhibit on-current density of 92.4 μA/μm and normalized transconductance of 13.3 μS/μm. Moreover, benchmarking with the aligned carbon nanotube transistors in the literature indicates that our devices exhibit the best performance so far, which is attributed to both the increased nanotube density and scaling down of channel length. This study shows the great potential of using such high-density aligned nanotubes for high performance nanoelectronics and analog/RF applications.
Effects of the diet and other metabolic phenomena on brain tryptophan uptake and serotonin synthesis.

In this short article, information will be briefly reviewed that ties serotonin (5HT) synthesis in brain to the availability of its amino acid precursor, tryptophan (TRP). In addition, the physiologic factors influencing brain TRP uptake will also be discussed, which include food ingestion, starvation, stress and exercise. Since available data linking these physiologic phenomenon to brain TRP and 5HT synthesis are in many cases incomplete, suggestions will be made concerning future research directions. The hope is that further investigation will resolve some of the perplexing issues in this complex area.
Emerging Options for Treating Hepatitis C Infection

Hepatitis C infection can cause chronic liver disease and liver carcinoma and can necessitate liver transplantation. Of the more than 3 million people infected with hepatitis C, more than two-thirds were born between 1945 and 1965. Many individuals are unaware that they're infected, which can delay treatment and lead to disease progression. Once infection is diagnosed, typical treatment regimens can involve multiple medications and side effects that can make it challenging for some people to complete therapy. In October 2014 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Harvoni®, a fixed dose combination pill of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir that provides a new option for treatment.
Deformable Registration of Tumor-Diseased Brain Images

This paper presents an approach for deformable registration of a normal brain atlas to visible anatomic structures in a tumor-diseased brain image. We restrict our attention to cortical surfaces. First, a model surface in the atlas is warped to the tumor-diseased brain image via a HAMMER-based volumetric registration algorithm. However, the volumetric warping is generally inaccurate around the tumor region, due to the lack of reliable features to which the atlas can be matched. Therefore, the model structures for which no reliable matches are found are labeled by a Markov Random Field-Maximum A Posteriori approach. A statistically-based interpolation method is then used to correct/refine the volumetric warping for those structures. Finally, with the good initialization obtained by the above steps and the identification of the part of the model anatomy that can be recognized in the patient’s image, the model surface is adaptively warped to its counterpart that is visible in the tumor-diseased brain image through a surface registration procedure. Preliminary results show good performance on both simulated and real tumor-diseased brain images.
Fractal Property in B ( H ) Induced by Partial Isometries

We consider the groupoid C*-dynamical systems \({(A,{\mathbb G},\alpha ),}\) where A is a C*-algebra in \({B(H),{\mathbb G}}\) is a certain groupoid, and α is an embedding groupoid action of \({{\mathbb G},}\) acting on A in B(H). In particular, we are interested in the case where the groupoid \({{\mathbb G}}\) is a fractaloid, a groupoid with fractal property. Moreover, we restrict our interests to the case where \({{\mathbb G}}\) is generated by finitely many partial isometries in B(H). We observe the basic properties of such C*-dynamical systems.
Asymmetric Synthesis of α-Substituted β-Amino Ketones from Sulfinimines (N-Sulfinyl Imines). Synthesis of the Indolizidine Alkaloid (−)-223A

Of the possible four stereoisomers, addition of the lithium enolate of 4-heptanone to sulfinimines resulted in only the syn- and anti-alpha-substituted beta-amino ketones. The formation of the major syn-beta-amino ketone was rationalized in terms of addition of the E-enolate to the C-N double bond of the sulfinimine via a six-member chelated chairlike transition state. The enolates of 4-heptanone were generated using LiHMDS in THF where a 1:2.5 E:Z enolate ratio was noted. In diethyl ether the E:Z ratio was 15:1 in favor of the E-enolate and explained in terms of Ireland's transition state model. Here increased steric interactions between the ethyl group and the carbonyl-LiN(TMS)(2) moiety destabilize the transition state leading to the Z-enolate in the poorly coordinating diethyl ether solvent. This new synthesis of syn-alpha-substituted-beta-amino ketones was applied to the concise enantioselective total synthesis of indolizidine (-)-223A, a 5,6,8-trisubstituted alkaloid isolated from the skin of the dendrobatide frog.
Thinking Through Cancer Risk: Characterizing Smokers' Process of Risk Determination

The perception of cancer risk motivates cancer risk reduction behaviors. However, common measurement strategies for cancer risk perceptions, which involve numerical likelihood estimates, do not adequately capture individuals' thoughts and feelings about cancer risk. To guide the development of novel measurement strategies, the authors used semistructured interviews to examine the thought processes used by smokers (N = 15) as they considered their cancer risk. They used grounded theory to guide systematic data coding and develop a heuristic model describing smokers' risk perception process that includes a cognitive, primarily rational process whereby salient personal risk factors for cancer are considered and combined, and an affective/attitudinal process, which shifts risk perceptions either up or down. The model provides a tentative explanation concerning how people hold cancer risk perceptions that diverge from rational assessment of their risks and will be useful in guiding the development of non-numer...
Hygrothermal Stresses in Coated Hollow/Solid Fibers Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs)

Using composite cylinders assembly (CCA) model, a generalized algorithm has been developed to evaluate the micro stresses developed in the constituent phases of multiply (N-phases) coated hollow/so...
Masculinity and Embodiment in the Practice of Foreskin Restoration

Male circumcision is one of the most widely practiced surgical procedures in the U.S. Thus, it may come as a surprise for some to learn that there is a movement of (mostly) men fighting against the surgery, and a portion of these activists advocate methods of foreskin restoration. For men dissatisfied with their circumcised state, foreskin restoration, especially of the do-it-yourself, nonsurgical variety, offers an opportunity to reconstruct the altered body. The aim of this paper is to explore the body politics and aesthetics of men who pursue foreskin restoration, the organizations that support them, and the tools they use. Ultimately, I hope to lay bare what restoration really is and does for the men who practice it.
Dissemination of Strongyloides stercoralis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus after initiation of albendazole: a case report

Strongyloides stercoralis infection affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. As immigration rates and international travel increase, so does the number of cases of strongyloidiasis in the United States. Although described both in immigrant and in immunosuppressed populations, hyperinfection and dissemination of S. stercoralis following the initiation of antiparasitic medication is a previously unreported phenomenon. Here we describe the case of a 38-year-old immunocompromised woman with systemic lupus erythematosus, who developed disseminated disease following treatment with albendazole (400 mg every 12 hours). Notably the patient was receiving oral prednisone (10 mg once daily), azathioprine (50 mg twice daily), and hydroxychloroquine (400 mg daily) at the time of hospitalization. The patient was subsequently treated successfully with ivermectin (200 mcg/kg daily). The reader should be aware that dissemination of S. stercoralis can occur even after the initiation of antiparasitic medication.
Bayesian Classifier and Molecular Marker Platforms for Immune Monitoring

Machine learning has been used in health care for over a decade. For example, models developed through this approach have been used in oncology to predict response to treatment based on tumor biomarker profiles. Machine learning is used in transplantation to elucidate biomarkers involved in the development of transplant glomerulopathy (TG), as a tool for deceased donor kidney allocation, and to increase the understanding of how beliefs within minority populations influence organ donation. In this chapter, these approaches are discussed in their current evolution and future directions with a focus on Bayesian belief networks (BBNs) and monitoring of immune status across transplantation.
On the continual Rubik's cube

Abstract Let f and g be two continuous functions on the unit sphere S n − 1 in R n , n ≥ 3 , and let their restrictions to any one-dimensional great circle E coincide after some rotation ϕ E of this circle: f ( ϕ E ( θ ) ) = g ( θ ) ∀ θ ∈ E . We prove that in this case f ( θ ) = g ( θ ) or f ( θ ) = g ( − θ ) for all θ ∈ S n − 1 . This answers the question posed by Richard Gardner and Vladimir Golubyatnikov.
The Canon Law of the Church of England: Its Implications for Unity†

Among lawyers who profess to know their way about the labyrinth of the Church of England's legal foundations there is a debate whether there are two subjects or one – are ecclesiastical law and canon law the same? As some purists contend that canon law is more restricted in its scope I shall take, for convenience and perhaps accuracy, the description ecclesiastical law, which certainly comprehends, or should comprehend, canon law. The ecclesiastical law of the Church of England is derived from six sources (1) papal and domestic canon law, (2) ecclesiastical common law, (3) the relevant parts of the Corpus Juris Civilis, (4) parliamentary statutes, (5) Measures of the Church Assembly and the General Synod, (6) the Canons.
Probiotics and Diverticular Disease

Diverticular disease is one of the most common medical conditions affecting Western populations. Inflammatory complications are the most common manifestation of the disease and typically cause acute bouts of abdominal pain and fever. Chronic symptoms can also occur and can be mistakenly attributed to irritable bowel syndrome and rarely to inflammatory bowel disease. Alterations in peridiverticular bacterial flora are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of diverticular inflammation. This article discusses the rationale and reviews the existing clinical data regarding the role of probiotics in the management of diverticular disease.
Secretagogue-stimulated pancreatic secretion is differentially regulated by constitutive NOS isoforms in mice

Nitric oxide (NO) and NO synthase (NOS) play controversial roles in pancreatic secretion. NOS inhibition reduces CCK-stimulated in vivo pancreatic secretion, but it is unclear which NOS isoform is ...
Atmospherically resistant vegetation index (ARVI) for EOS-MODIS

An atmospherically resistant vegetation index (ARVI) is proposed and developed for remote sensing of vegetation from the Earth Observing System (EOS) MODIS sensor. The same index can be used for remote sensing from Landsat TM and the EOS-HIRIS sensor. The index takes advantage of the presence of the blue channel (0.47.+or-0.01 mu m) in the MODIS sensor, in addition to the red (0.66+or-0.025 mu m) and the near-IR (0.865+or-0.02 mu m) channels that compose the present normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The resistance of the ARVI to atmospheric effects (in comparison to the NDVI) is accomplished by a self-correction process for the atmospheric effect on the red channel, using the difference in the radiance between the blue and the red channels to correct the radiance in the red channel. Simulations using radiative transfer computations on arithmetic and natural surface spectra, for various atmospheric conditions, show that ARVI has a similar dynamic range to the NDVI, but is, on average, four times less sensitive to atmospheric effects than the NDVI. >
Pneumatically Formed Sandwich Shell Roof Structures

A method is presented for constructing plastic sandwich shell structures by which it is possible to accomplish the majority of the construction with the shell in a flat configuration and then deform it into some desired curved configuration. The resulting shell structure is studied experimentally at 3/16 scale, ½ scale, and full scale to determine structural response to load, construction feasibility, and construction practicability, respectively. Experimentally determined structural responses of the 3/16 scale model are compared to the results of a finite element analysis of the shell.
Making a Burlesque of the Constitution: Military Trials of Civilians in the War Against Terrorism

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the federal government has advanced a constitutional theory of unchecked Presidential power to use military commissions to try and punish any person the executive branch deems to be an “enemy combatant,” including citizens and resident aliens. This sweeping power is said to be inherent in the President’s constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief, and also authorized by acts of Congress passed pursuant to its Article I “war powers,” including the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 and the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Contrary to such an extravagant and dangerous assertion of unlimited military jurisdiction, the President’s use of military tribunals is subject to judicially reviewable constitutional limitations designed to protect the Article III and Sixth Amendment rights of civilians to trial by jury in a civilian court.This Article demonstrates that military commissions convened in areas where Article III civilian courts are open and functioning have no jurisdiction to try a detainee unless the detainee has been properly classified as an “enemy combatant.” Such a classification requires the government to show that the detainee has directly participated in hostilities against American armed forces on the battlefield or otherwise engaged in active hostilities outside the battlefield under the command of the enemy’s armed forces. If such a showing cannot be made, the detainee is a “civilian” who must be tried for any criminal acts in the civilian courts according to the Constitution. The Article further demonstrates that whether a person detained by the United States is a “civilian” or an “enemy combatant” is a justiciable issue of constitutional law for the civilian courts. For historical context, the Article traces the origins of the Constitution’s jury trial guarantees, provides a brief history of the use of military tribunals in England and America, and explores the traditional distinction in American constitutional law between the legal category of “civilian” and that of “enemy combatant.”
Quantum memory via phase-matching control

We suggest a new approach to quantum memory, based on control of the phase matching via continues variation in time of the wave vector of the control field during the processes of writing and read-out of the single photon wave-packet.
Shame, Empathy and Looking Practices: Lessons from a Disability Studies Classroom

This article proposes a use of Silvan Tomkins’s concept of shame to understand classroom practices of looking at photographs that represent bodies with visible disabilities. We consider an instance of classroom looking to suggest a concept of intersubjective, authorized public looking and to propose that the experiences of surprise and shame are constitutive of empathetic identification and the kind of social connectedness needed for a shared disability politics.
Covert dyskinesia with aripiprazole: A case report

To the Editor: Covert dyskinesia is a masked form of tardive dyskinesia that emerges only after antipsychotic drugs are withdrawn or reduced in dosage. Covert dyskinesia is distinguished from other forms of withdrawal-emergent dyskinesia by its persistence for more than 3 months following discontinuation of antipsychotics.1 Only 1 prior case has suggested its occurrence with aripiprazole.2
The Surgical Management of Total Urinary Incontinence in the Female Patient

AbstractA total of 14 female patients with complete urinary incontinence underwent urethral reconstruction by a variety of techniques. Included were 2 patients with acquired urethral defects, 5 with congenitally short urethras, 2 with epispadias, 3 with remnant ureteroceles and 2 with cloacal anomalies. Complete continence was restored in 10 patients, 3 were improved markedly and there was 1 failure owing to obstruction with overflow incontinence. In several patients full control was acquired slowly and was hastened by bladder retraining. Urodynamic studies proved to be extremely valuable for the postoperative as well as preoperative assessment of these patients. (J. Urol., 138: 521–524, 1987)
Fuel carbon pathway in the first cranking cycle of a gasoline direct injection engine

The fuel carbon pathway for the cold-start first cranking cycle in a gasoline direct injection engine is characterized quantitatively. The engine is fired for a single cycle in one cylinder at a sp...
Clinical Inferences of Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Device Analysis at Autopsy.

Abstract Background Cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) removal and interrogation are recommended at autopsy in suspected cases of sudden cardiac death, but data on the role of nonselective post-mortem CIED (pacemaker or defibrillator) analysis in this setting are lacking. Objectives This study undertook an institutional registry analysis to determine the utility of systematic routine CIED removal, interrogation, and analysis at autopsy. Methods From May 19, 2009, to May 18, 2015, autopsy subjects with a CIED at a Johns Hopkins University medical institution (Baltimore, Maryland) underwent CIED removal and interrogation by an electrophysiologist for clinical alerts. The CIED was then submitted for technical analysis by the manufacturer. The CIED interrogation, the manufacturer’s technical analysis, and the final autopsy report were all cataloged in the Johns Hopkins Post-mortem CIED Registry. Results A total of 2,025 autopsies were performed; 84 subjects had CIEDs removed and analyzed. These devices included 37 pacemakers and 47 defibrillators. Overall, 43 subjects had died suddenly, and 41 had not died suddenly. Significant clinical alerts (sustained tachyarrhythmias or an elevated fluid index value) were seen in 62.8% cases of sudden deaths. In the nonsudden death cohort, 19.5% displayed a significant clinical alert. Significant association of CIED alerts were noted when comparing sudden deaths versus nonsudden deaths (p Conclusions Post-mortem CIED analysis was clinically useful in assisting with determination of the timing, mechanism, and cause of death in the majority of sudden deaths and in almost 20% of nonsudden deaths. The authors advocate CIED removal with analysis as an important diagnostic tool in all autopsies and to assist manufacturers in identifying potentially fatal device failures.
Essentials of Applied Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists, Second Edition

Abstract The Second Edition of this popular book on practical mathematics for engineers includes new and expanded chapters on perturbation methods and theory. This is a book about linear partial differential equations that are common in engineering and the physical sciences. It will be useful to graduate students and advanced undergraduates in all engineering fields as well as students of physics, chemistry, geophysics and other physical sciences and professional engineers who wish to learn about how advanced mathematics can be used in their professions. The reader will learn about applications to heat transfer, fluid flow and mechanical vibrations. The book is written in such a way that solution methods and application to physical problems are emphasized. There are many examples presented in detail and fully explained in their relation to the real world. References to suggested further reading are included. The topics that are covered include classical separation of variables and orthogonal functions, La...
The Kimbundu Diaspora to Brazil: Records from the Slave Ship Brilhante, 1838

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was a major slave trading port in the nineteenth century, with most of the slaves coming from Angola, in West Central Africa. The inland origins of these captives, however, are still largely ignored. This article traces the linguistic origins of slaves transported from Angola to Rio de Janeiro based on the names of Africans liberated from the slave ship Brilhante in 1838. It shows that a significant proportion of these Africans had Kimbundu names, indicating that they were originally captured in regions close to the coast through warfare, judicial proceedings, and self- enslavement. The names further indicate that these Africans came from rural societies divided by social class and who had a profound belief in god, the power of spirits, and in the afterlife.
Fitting Graded Response Models to Data with Non-Normal Latent Traits

Fitting item response theory (IRT) models often relies on the assumption of a normal distribution for the person latent trait(s). Violating the assumption of normality may bias the estimates of IRT item and person parameters, especially when sample sizes are not large. In practice, the actual distribution for person parameters may not always be normal, and hence it is important to understand how IRT models perform under such situations. This study focuses on the performance of the multi-unidimensional graded response model using a Hasting-within-Gibbs procedure. The results of this study provide a general guideline for estimating the multi-unidimensional graded response model under the investigated conditions where the latent traits may not assume a normal distribution.
Solution-state NMR analysis of hydroxymethylated resorcinol cured in the presence of crude milled-wood lignin from Acer saccharum

Resorcinol-formaldehyde adhesives can reinforce stress fractures that appear from wood surface preparation. Researchers have found that applying the resorcinol-formaldehyde prepolymer, hydroxymethylated resorcinol, to the surface of wood improves the bond strength of epoxy and polyurethane adhesives to wood. Hydroxymethylated resorcinol is thought to plasticize lignin components and stabilize stress fractures through reactions with lignin subunits and hemicelluloses in wood. In this study, a dilute solution of hydroxymethylated resorcinol (HMR) is cured in the presence of a crude milled-wood lignin (cMWL) from Acer saccharum and subsequently dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide-d6 to delineate reactivity with lignin and O-acetyl-(4-O-methylglucurono)xylan using solution-state NMR spectroscopy. 1H–13C single-bond correlation NMR experiments revealed that the HMR only formed 4,4′-diarylmethane structures with itself in the presence of the cMWL; the 2-methylols that formed remained free and did not crosslink with resorcinol. Cured HMR resin formed both 4,4′- and 2,4-diarylmethane structures, confirming that the presence of lignin and O-acetyl-(4-O-methylglucurono)xylan hinders crosslinking at the C-2 position. No evidence of reactivity between HMR and lignin subunits was found. New peaks consistent with ester linkages were observed in 13C-NMR spectra of the cMWL sample treated with HMR that may be attributable to HMR moieties condensing with glucuronic acid substituents. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45398.
Using State and Transition Models to Show Economic Interdependence of Ecological Sites at the Ranch Level

Abstract US government agencies are adopting state and transition models (STMs) for rangeland evaluation, monitoring, and management. This research demonstrates advantages of combining STMs and ranch economic models. A dynamic optimization framework casts management decisions—stocking rates and brush control—in the context of ranch profitability over a suite of ecological sites. Markov processes characterize the likelihood of state transitions. The ranch model shows economic interdependence of multiple ecological sites. Ecological site combinations producing the most forage are not the most economically advantageous. The state of one ecological site influences the forage value elsewhere and ultimately the intensity at which a ranch is stocked. Likewise, brush control benefits depend importantly on the state of all ecological sites.
Stable MoSi 2 nanofilms with controllable and high metallicity

We use density functional theory calculations to show nanofilms of covalent ${\mathrm{MoSi}}_{2}$ exhibit tunable carrier densities and high metallicity at the Fermi level. We determine the nanofilm stabilities by assessing their formation energies, surface energies, and phonon spectra. The dependence of metallicity on the nanofilm geometry is explained using surface-termination-induced electronic structure changes and confinement effects. Understanding this metallicity not only is important to further improve the oxidation resistance of related alloys, but also will facilitate the identification of various thin films of ${\mathrm{MoSi}}_{2}$ alloys and should lead to their use in nanoelectronic, electrochemical catalysis and low-dimensional transport experiments.
Axisymmetric Apex Loadings on Conical Shells

Solutions to the Love-Meissner equations of the thin conical shell of constant wall thickness are obtained in terms of generalized hypergeometric series. Singularities in the displacements and stress resultants due to a concentrated force and due to hot spots are compared with those resulting from similar loadings on the flat plate and shallow dome with several differences being noted.
Analysis of retracted articles in the surgical literature.

Abstract Background Retractions of scientific articles represent attempts to correct the literature. Our goal was to examine retracted surgical papers. Methods NCBI PubMed database was queried using the search terms “surgery,” “surg,” or “surgical” and “retracted” or “retraction.” Article details were recorded. Results There were 184 retracted surgical articles identified from 1991 through 2015. Average retraction time was 3.6 years. General (26%), Cardiac (22%), and Orthopedic (10%) surgery were most common. Reasons for retraction were duplication (35.3%), Institutional Review Board violations (18.5%), falsified data (14.7%), data errors (9.8%), author dispute (8.2%), plagiarism (7.6%), copyright violations (2.2%), financial disclosure violations (0.5%), and consent (0.5%). No reason for retraction was given in 8.7% of cases. Median IF was higher for administrative than content-related retraction reasons (3.0 vs. 2.0, P Conclusions Article retractions occur across all fields of surgery for various reasons, both administrative and content-related. The majority of surgical retraction notices have a reason for retraction listed and do not require payment to read.
Genetic markers of dopaminergic transmission predict performance for older males but not females.

Abstract Mobility and memory declines with aging can limit independence. Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms have been associated with cognitive performance, but studies investigating motor function are scant. We examined 4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms involved in dopaminergic metabolism: BDNF (Val66Met), DRD3 (Ser9Gly), DBH (C>T), and COMT (Val158Met) for their relationship to motor and cognitive function in healthy older adults (n = 4605 and n = 7331) who participated in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study. Individuals with genotypes associated with reduced dopamine metabolism exhibited poorer balance and memory. We found the most pronounced effects in the oldest participants (aged 85+ years), supporting the notion that age-related declines in dopamine availability contribute to magnified genotype effects with advancing age. Moreover, males demonstrated stronger associations than did females between a number of beneficial dopamine alleles and cognitive scores, suggesting that sex differences in dopaminergic transmission interact with genotype to influence performance. These findings point to common genetic variants related to dopaminergic metabolism that characterizes individual differences in motor and cognitive function in older adults.
From Discrete to Continuous

The questions raised in the introductory chapter stem from a single problem: bridging the gap between the discrete and the continuous. Discreteness is exemplified by the positive integers 1,2,3,4,..., which arise from counting but also admit addition and multiplication. Continuity is exemplified by the concept of distance on a line, which arises from measurement but also admits addition and multiplication. The problem is to find a concept of real number that embraces both counting and measurement, and satisfies the expected laws of addition and multiplication.
On evolutionarily conserved simple repetitive DNA sequences: do "sex-specific" satellite components serve any sequence dependent function?

The nuclear genomes of eukaryotes contain DNA of varying degrees of repetition. Highly repetitious DNA and simple repetitive sequences as a fraction thereof appear to be distributed in a non-random fashion in the genome. There are arguments for and against functional roles of simple repetitive sequences, and the reasons for their evolutionary conservation are not at all clear. In order to learn more about the biologic role of simple repetitive sequences in the context of their evolutionary history, we report here the following results from studies of sex-specific snake satellite DNA: 1) The snake simple repeat sequence is 5′-GATAGACA-3′ and it is strictly conserved throughout vertebrate evolution. 2) The simple repeat sequence is intimately interspersed with single-copy DNA throughout the mouse genome. 3) The simple repeat is transcribed into RNA in several animal systems and it is translatable in bacterial test systems. 4) The simple repeat sequence is sex-specifically arranged in vertebrates. 5) In snake DNA, the simple repeat is adjacent to a single-copy sequence which singles out a male-specific putative mRNA in mouse polysomal poly (A)+ RNA. Thus even if this snake simple repetitive sequence is not involved in a basic cellular function such as sex-determination, it is nevertheless a valuable tool to approach those problems.
Dimensions of Analogy

Analogy has been studied by many researchers in philosophy, psychology, and artificial intelligence. My aim in this chapter is to sketch the conceptual geography of computational research on analogy and to address some of the important issues that arise there. I shall try to identify the major dimensions along which various investigations of analogy differ. These chiefly concern how analogies are represented, how they are retrieved from memory, how they are exploited, and how learning takes place as the result of analogy. Particular attention will be paid to the different degrees to which different approaches along the different dimensions use syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic techniques. Important work on analogy has been done by philosophers such as Hesse (1966) and by psychologists, but for reasons that will be sketched in the next section, I shall concentrate here on computationa. approaches to analogy. The philosophical question of the role of analogies in inference will, however, be addressed.
Herbert Hoover: A Life/Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency

Review of: "Herbert Hoover: A Life", by Glen Jeansonne and of "Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency", by Charles Rappleye.
Connectionist and evolutionary models for learning, discovering and forecasting software effort

Mining information and knowledge from very large databases is recognized as a key research area in machine learning and expert systems. In the current research, we use connectionist and evolutionary models for learning software effort. Specifically, we use these models to learn the software effort from a set of training data set containing information on software projects and test the performance of the model on a holdout sample. The design issues of developing connectionist and evolutionary models for mining software effort patterns on a data set are described. Our research indicates that connectionist and evolutionary models, whenever carefully designed, hold a great promise for knowledge discovery and forecasting software effort.
STEREOISOMERS OF CATECHOLAMINES

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an overview of the stereoisomers of catecholamines. Optical isomers of substrates for α-chymotrypsin have been very useful in mapping the active site of the enzyme. By analogy, optical isomers of catecholamines should prove to be a valuable tool to investigate pharmacologic receptors. At the adrenergic neuroeffector junction, if not all, many processes are stereoselective for isomers of catecholamines. Under the very best experimental conditions, the initial neuronal uptake by rat heart and cortex exhibits no more than four-fold selectivity in the favor of (−)-norepinephrine. However, the neuronal membranes of other organs fail to show any great selectivity in the uptake of (−)- and (+)-norepinephrine. The retention of isomers presumably by storage vesicles shows a definite preference for the natural isomer. Stereoisomers of catecholamines as well as other substances provide a valuable, perhaps the most important, tool for the study of pharmacologic receptors. The chapter also highlights that the proteolipid isolated from bovine spleen when incorporated in artificial membrane show conductance change with (−)-norepinephrine and not with (+)-norepinephrine.
Probabilistic Cause-of-disease Assignment using Case-control Diagnostic Tests: A Hierarchical Bayesian Latent Variable Regression Approach

Summary Optimal prevention and treatment strategies for a disease of multiple causes must be informed by the population distribution of causes among cases, or cause-specific case fraction (CSCFs) which may further depend on explanatory variables. However, the true causes are often not observed, motivating the use of non-gold-standard diagnostic tests that provide indirect etiologic evidence. Based on case-control multivariate binary data, this paper proposes a novel and unified modeling framework for estimating CSCF functions, closing the existing methodological gap in disease etiology research. With a novel shrinkage prior to encourage parsimonious approximation to a multivariate binary distribution given covariates, the model leverages critical control data for valid probabilistic cause assignment for cases. We derive an efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm for flexible posterior inference. We illustrate the inference of CSCF functions using extensive simulations and show that the proposed model produces less biased estimates and more valid inference of the overall CSCFs than an analysis that omits covariates. A regression analysis of pediatric pneumonia data reveals the dependence of CSCFs upon season, age, HIV status and disease severity.
Strong Converse for the Feedback-Assisted Classical Capacity of Entanglement-Breaking Channels

Quantum entanglement can be used in a communication scheme to establish a correlation between successive channel inputs that is impossible by classical means. It is known that the classical capacity of quantum channels can be enhanced by such entangled encoding schemes, but this is not always the case. In this paper, we prove that a strong converse theorem holds for the classical capacity of an entanglement-breaking channel even when it is assisted by a classical feedback link from the receiver to the transmitter. In doing so, we identify a bound on the strong converse exponent, which determines the exponentially decaying rate at which the success probability tends to zero, for a sequence of codes with communication rate exceeding capacity. Proving a strong converse, along with an achievability theorem, shows that the classical capacity is a sharp boundary between reliable and unreliable communication regimes. One of the main tools in our proof is the sandwiched Renyi relative entropy. The same method of proof is used to derive an exponential bound on the success probability when communicating over an arbitrary quantum channel assisted by classical feedback, provided that the transmitter does not use entangled encoding schemes.
Anemia Management in Peritoneal Dialysis

Anemia in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is a complex problem involving iron metabolism, deficient erythropoiesis, and inflammatory responses due to uremia and persistence of associated middle molecule molecular toxins. With the advent of the kidney X initiative, growth of peritoneal dialysis (PD) is expected to greatly increase the number of patients on home therapies. In this chapter, the pathophysiology of anemia in ESKD is discussed in detail, and the rational basis for anemia therapy is described. The use of various agents in the treatment of anemia of ESKD is outlined. Evidence-based guidelines from the literature are also reviewed in a matter useful to the clinician. The latest developments in ESKD anemia therapy are discussed (hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors). Finally factors unique to PD are discussed to crystalize the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in treating ESKD-associated anemia in PD patients.
Total abdominal debranching hybrid thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair versus chimneys and snorkels

Abstract Open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair remains a surgical challenge. Hybrid and total endovascular repair have emerged as alternatives in treating TAAA. Total endovascular TAAA repair may be best performed with branched/fenestrated stent grafts. However, these technologies are not yet widely available. Thus, currently total endovascular TAAA repair using the chimney/snorkel techniques is considered a viable option in many centers. In this article, we briefly review 2 readily available techniques with off-the-shelf devices, hybrid procedure using total abdominal debranching, and total endovascular repair using chimney/snorkel procedures. The hybrid TAAA repair avoids thoracotomy but requires laparotomy and carries high morbidity and mortality (eg, operative mortality, 4%-26% and renal failure, 4%-26%), comparable to traditional open repair. The staged hybrid approach has been proposed to minimize the invasiveness of the procedure, whereas the associated risk of interval aortic deaths is not negligible. Total endovascular repair reduces the morbidity and mortality after TAAA repair (eg, operative mortality, 3%-20% and renal failure, 0%-20%). However, it is technically demanding and the risks of future reinterventions—and need for repetitive surveillance—is inevitable (eg, immediate type I endoleak, 7%-16% and 1-year branch patency, 93%-98%). Currently, there are not enough data to determine which less-invasive option for open repair in patients with TAAA is superior. These alternatives should complement each other and be applied to carefully selected populations as a part of the overall toolbox in treating TAAA.
Appropriateness and Cost-Effectiveness of Echocardiograms Ordered by Pediatric Cardiologists and Primary Care Providers for Syncope.

The pediatric appropriate use criteria (AUC) were applied to transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) ordered by primary care providers (PCPs) and pediatric cardiologists for the diagnosis of syncope to...