cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Longterm impact of abdominal decompression: a prospective comparative analysis.

Background Abdominal decompression is widely used to treat end-organ dysfunction associated with intraabdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS). The longterm impact of abdominal decompression on physical and mental health, quality of life, and subsequent employment remains unclear. Study Design A prospective cohort study was performed at a tertiary referral/Level I trauma center. All patients who required abdominal decompression for more than 48 hours were asked to complete the SF-36v2 health survey at regular intervals for 2 years postdecompression. Patients discharged with a chronic incisional hernia (OPEN) were compared with those discharged with primary fascial closure (CLOSED) and with the general population. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and successful return to employment were determined. Results From June 2002 to May 2005, 245 consecutive patients required abdominal decompression for intraabdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome. Forty-four patients (30 OPEN, 14 CLOSED) met inclusion criteria and completed their health surveys. At 6 months postdecompression, physical and social functioning were significantly decreased among OPEN, but not CLOSED, patients when compared with the general population. By 18 months, OPEN patients demonstrated normal physical and mental health perception. OPEN and CLOSED patients exhibited decreased, but identical, quality-adjusted life years (1.20±0.11 versus 1.23±0.25 [mean ± SD]; p=0.39) and similar ability to resume employment (41% versus 55%; p=0.49). Conclusions Abdominal decompression does not have a negative impact on longterm physical or mental health perception. Quality of life and ability to resume employment are not improved by same-admission primary fascial closure. Abdominal decompression is not as debilitating and life altering as might be expected.
Primary pulmonary chondrosarcoma mimicking bronchogenic cyst on CT and MRI

Pulmonary chondrosarcoma is a rarely encountered primary tumor of the lung. We present a case with computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging features mimicking a bronchogenic cyst.
CYPERACEAE IN LIBERIA

THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA has an area of ca. 37,000 sq. mi., a population estimated at less than a million. This country in comparison with most of the continent of Africa is relatively unspoiled. Much of its primary forest remains (Mayer, 1951). Its road mileage is limited. Its minerals are just beginning to be mined. The Firestone rubber plantations constitute the only sizeable agricultural development. But present economic and technical assistance from the United States promises drastic changes: marked increase in population, irreparable alteration of vegetation, exploitation of mineral resources, construction of roads, erosion of soils, sedimentation of streams. Records of the native plants of Liberia should, therefore, be made now.4 Such records from this area on the western bulge of Africa are of considerable significance to phytogeographic theory and afford important insights into the distribution patterns of many species with strictly African affinities. Treated here are the Liberian representatives of the Cyperaceae known to date. Sedges are important elements in that flora, and many of them are indicators of soil types. Though Engler (1904) in his classic paper on floristic relationships between the American and African tropics mentioned none of the Cyperaceae, some of them exemplify striking connections. Eighty-one species (possibly eighty-three) and five varieties of Cyperaceae are now recorded for Liberia. Hutchinson and Dalziel (1936) recognized 201 species for' the whole of west tropical Africa. Dinklage (1937), a collector who lived for 40 years-more or less-in this country, reviewed in a posthumous publication the history of botanical collecting in Liberia and listed the ferns and flowering plants then known; he tabulated fiftyfour species and one variety of sedges. Like some of the other early collectors he was German, and they, in large measure, deposited their collections in Berlin. Bombings during World War II destroyed many of their specimens. Dinklage died in 1935 (see footnote in Baldwin, 1950). Liberian sedge specimens of two collectors subsequent to Din,klage have been available for study: those of Winifred J. Harley and of J. T. Baldwin, Jr. Mrs. Harley, a medical technician at the Ganta Mission in the Sanokwele District, has been in Liberia since the 1920's and is a keen student of the flora, particularly of the pteridophytes. Her specimens of Cyperaceae are deposited at Kew. Baldwin,
Children's mode choice for the school trip: the role of distance and school location in walking to school

Rising levels of childhood obesity in the United States and a 75% decline in the proportion of children walking to school in the past 30 years have focused attention on school travel. This paper uses data from the US Department of Transportation’s 2001 National Household Travel Survey to analyze the factors affecting mode choice for elementary and middle school children. The analysis shows that walk travel time is the most policy-relevant factor affecting the decision to walk to school with an estimated direct elasticity of −0.75. If policymakers want to increase walking rates, these findings suggest that current policies, such as Safe Routes to School, which do not affect the spatial distribution of schools and residences will not be enough to change travel behavior. The final part of the paper uses the mode choice model to test how a land use strategy—community schools—might affect walking to school. The results show that community schools have the potential to increase walking rates but would require large changes from current land use, school, and transportation planning practices.
Rural internet connectivity

Abstract This research investigates Internet connectivity in rural regions, looking specifically at four states in the US. Access to the Internet has assumed new significance for commercial and political reasons, and remote and sparsely populated areas typically lack the telecommunications infrastructure for reliable and fast Internet connections. Even as government programs such as the federal E-rate provisions bring Internet connectivity for institutions such as schools and libraries under the government's universal service umbrella, more general Internet access to a broader community constituency has not been addressed within policy circles. Even the deployment of so-called “national” Internet services favors urban regions. Research associates Kyle Nicholas and Lisa Parker were instrumental in undertaking this research, as was financial support from Southwestern Bell and the Rural Policy Institute. The comments of an anonymous reviewer helped greatly.
Photocrosslinking of polymethoxymethylstyrene and copolymers containing (2,2‐disubstituted‐1,3‐dioxolan‐4‐yl)methoxymethylstyrene

Methoxymethylstyrene (MSt), (2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methoxymethylstyrene (MMSt), and (2-ethyl-2-methyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl)methoxymethylstyrene (EMSt) were synthesized and homopolymerized and copolymerized. The photochemical behavior of resultant homopolymers and copolymers with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) were investigated. The infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectra of poly(MSt) showed that new bands ascribed to methyl benzoate residue increase rapidly with irrdiation time in air, but no detectable changes are observed in vacuum. The solubility measurements of poly(MSt) indicate that the main factor in crosslinking is the direct coupling of the benzyl radical generated by UV irradiation, which was confirmed by photopolymerization of MMA by means of benzyl methyl ether. It was also found that copolymers of MMSt or EMSt with MMA or St are easily crosslinked by UV irradiation. From the results of solubility measurements of these copolymers irradiated both in air and in vaccum, it was concluded that not only the 1,3-dioxolane structure but also the benzyl methyl ether structure takes part in photocrosslinking, as we expected.
Exploring the relationship between incidence and the average age of infection during seasonal epidemics

The inverse relationship between the incidence and the average age of first infection for immunizing agents has become a basic tenet in the theory underlying the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases. However, this relationship assumes that the infection has reached an endemic equilibrium. In reality, most infectious diseases exhibit seasonal and/or long-term oscillations in incidence. We use a seasonally forced age-structured SIR model to explore the relationship between the number of cases and the average age of first infection over a single epidemic cycle. Contrary to the relationship for the equilibrium dynamics, we find that the average age of first infection is greatest at or near the peak of the epidemic when mixing is homogeneous. We explore the sensitivity of our findings to assumptions about the natural history of infection, population mixing behavior, the mechanism of seasonality, and of the timing of case reporting in relation to the infectious period. We conclude that seasonal variation in the average age of first infection tends to be greatest for acute infections, and the relationship between the number of cases and the average age of first infection can vary depending on the nature of population mixing and the natural history of infection.
Surface Alteration and the Agglutinability of Red Cells

IN the course of a study of the effects of formalin on red cells it was noted that formalin was capable of completely inhibiting the agglutinability of red cells by antisera without destroying the antigens of the cells.
Analysis of a Laminate with a Postbuckled Embedded Delamination, Including Contact Effects

The behavior of a postbuckled embedded delamination was studied using geometrically-nonlinear 3-D finite element analysis. Nonlinearities due to both significant rotations and delamination face contact were considered. The analysis showed that the postbuckling deformation can lead to matrix cracking and fiber breakage in addition to delamination growth. These calculations agree qualitatively with experimental results. Also, for the configuration analyzed and moderate strain levels, the strain-energy release rates can be calculated with reasonable accuracy without including contact effects in the analysis
Projecting wafer probe yields for products fabricated in new technologies

It is desirable to be able to forecast wafer probe yields for new products to be fabricated using the next generation technology. This is advantageous to assess the cost effectiveness of developing new technologies as well as to be able to plan wafer starts for these products.
A little Ilokano grammar as it appears in interaction

Abstract Natural languages and their grammars evolve and exist in moments of face-to-face interaction, in utterances that emerge over time and are constrained by multiple system requirements of intersubjectivity and interaction. The adaptation to this environment can be observed in the diverse and specific ‘forward orientations’ that grammatical schemata afford. However, we know little about the precise impact of interaction requirements on the historical formation of language types. This is a study of a few grammatical schemata that emerge in interactions among speakers of Ilokano (Philippines, Austronesian). They appear in contexts of repair and are partly shaped by a core feature of Ilokano syntax, linkage (or relation marking). They are analyzed here with regard to their role in the prospective organization of interaction, that is, their implication in the management of turn-taking and turn-expansion. The analysis uncovers candidate features of what might be considered an interactional syntax of the Philippine type.
A Wnt-FoxQ2-Nodal Pathway Links Primary and Secondary Axis Specification in Sea Urchin Embryos

The primary (animal-vegetal) (AV) and secondary (oral-aboral) (OA) axes of sea urchin embryos are established by distinct regulatory pathways. However, because experimental perturbations of AV patterning also invariably disrupt OA patterning and radialize the embryo, these two axes must be mechanistically linked. Here we show that FoxQ2, which is progressively restricted to the animal plate during cleavage stages, provides this linkage. When AV patterning is prevented by blocking the nuclear function of beta-catenin, the animal plate where FoxQ2 is expressed expands throughout the future ectoderm, and expression of nodal, which initiates OA polarity, is blocked. Surprisingly, nodal transcription and OA differentiation are rescued simply by inhibiting FoxQ2 translation. Therefore, restriction of FoxQ2 to the animal plate is a crucial element of canonical Wnt signaling that coordinates patterning along the AV axis with the initiation of OA specification.
Real-space pseudopotential calculations for graphene dots embedded in hexagonal boron nitride

Abstract A major challenge for graphene-based applications is the creation of a tunable electronic band gap as would be present for traditional semiconductor alloys. Since hexagonal boron nitride has a very similar lattice structure to graphene, it is a natural candidate for modifying the electronic structure of graphene by forming a hybrid phase sheet containing domains of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride, as has been done experimentally. Here we investigate the properties of such hybrid sheets using pseudopotential-density functional theory implemented in real space. We find for a graphene dot comparable in size to those observed in experiment, the band gap of the sheet is not significantly modified.
Psychiatric Disorders in Toxoplasma Seropositive Patients—The CD8 Connection

Although the highest numbers of studies linking an infectious agent with schizophrenia has involved the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the mechanistic underpinnings of this correlation has remained unaddressed. Incidentally, CD8 T cells, which play a pivotal role in mediating long-term immunity to Toxoplasma, are downregulated in schizophrenia patients. Recent studies have demonstrated that CD8 response is also impaired during chronic toxoplasmosis in murine models. In light of these new findings, in this article, we discuss the potential role of CD8 T cells in causing altered mental status in Toxoplasma seropositive schizophrenia patients.
From Edward III to Edward VI: The Vision of Piers Plowman and Early Modern England

This essay investigates the historical and cultural significance of Robert Crowley's mid-sixteenth-century editions of William Langland's fourteenth-century poem, The Vision of Piers Plowman. The limited scholarship on this text to date has focused primarily on the theological significance of Crowley's editorial project. The essay pushes the scholarship in a new direction by arguing that the historical upheavals of the late 1540s provide the best explanation for the impetus behind Crowley's publications. A common moment of historical crisis unites the worlds of Crowley and Langland, suggesting why Crowley may have been attracted to Langland's visionary poetry in the first place.
AUTOMATED SCORING OF SHORT‐ANSWER OPEN‐ENDED GRE® SUBJECT TEST ITEMS

This report describes the development, administration, and scoring of open-ended variants of GRE® Subject Test items in biology and psychology. These questions were administered in a Web-based experiment to registered examinees of the respective Subject Tests. The questions required a short answer of 1-3 sentences, and responses were automatically scored by natural language processing methods, using the c-rater™ scoring engine, immediately after participants submitted their responses. Participants received immediate feedback on the correctness of their answers, and an opportunity to revise their answers. Subsequent human scoring of the responses allowed an evaluation of the quality of automated scoring. This report focuses on the success of the automated scoring process. A separate report describes the feedback and revision results.
Could the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 be Helpful in Reforming Corporate America? An Investigation on Financial Bounties and Whistle-Blowing Behaviors in the Private Sector

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the availability of financial bounties and anonymous reporting channels impact individuals’ general reporting intentions of questionable acts and whether the availability of financial bounties will prompt people to reveal their identities. The recent passage of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 creates a financial bounty for whistle-blowers. In addition, SOX requires companies to provide employees with an anonymous reporting channel option. It is unclear of the effect of these provisions as they relate to whistle-blowing. Our results indicate that a financial bounty has the potential to increase participants’ propensity to report questionable acts and their willingness to reveal their identities when reporting, but the availability of an anonymous reporting channel does not affect participants’ propensity to report questionable acts. These findings could potentially help corporate management, government policy makers and accounting researchers to assess the effectiveness of their internal compliance programs and help determine if financial bounties in the private sector could encourage whistle-blowing.
Anatomy of the fully formed chondrocranium of Podocnemis unifilis (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae)

This study describes the anatomy of the chondrocranium of Podocnemis unifilis (Pleurodira, Podocnemididae), based on recently hatched specimens, and cleared and double-stained specimens. The orbitotemporal region is dramatically different from those observed for other species of turtles in that the: (1) planum supraseptale is greatly reduced and present only as tiny projections on the posterodorsal margin of the interorbital septum, (2) pila metoptica is free from all neighbouring structures and bifurcates distally, (3) pila antotica is greatly reduced, (4) foramina for optic nerve, ophthalmic artery and oculomotor nerves are open dorsally by virtue of this species lacking the taenia marginalis and taenia medialis, and (5) tectum synoticum is present and invested dorsally by the supraoccipital, despite the fact that this bone forms by replacement of the supraoccipital. The unique morphology of the pila metoptica is explained either as de novo formation of processes on the terminus of this cartilage or by retention of portions of the taenia medialis (anteriorly) and pila antotica or pila accessoria (posteriorly). Variation in the orbitotemporal region presented here is discussed for two other pleurodiran turtles (Phrynops hilarii and Emydura subglobosa) and briefly compared with the anatomy observed in Cryptodira.
A GRASP for Parallel Machine Scheduling with Time Windows

This paper presents a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP) for scheduling n jobs on m nonhomogeneous parallel machines with time windows. An additional feature of the problem is that each job falls into one of I priority classes. The objective is to maximize the number of jobs scheduled, where a job in a higher priority class has infinitely more value than a job in a lower priority class. The GRASP consists of two phases. The first phase produces feasible solutions by ranking each job with a greedy function and then selecting one at random from a restricted candidate list. The process is repeated until no more jobs can be scheduled. The second phase seeks a local optimum by searching over a series of neighborhoods defined by job insertions and exchanges. The algorithm is compared to a dynamic-programming heuristic that sequentially schedules the jobs in each priority class. Extensive computational results are presented based on data drawn from an application involving the use of communications relay satellites.
Safety of Posaconazole and Sirolimus Coadministration in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants

Sirolimus is used in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs) for prevention and treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Posaconazole is used in this population for invasive fungal disease (IFD) prophylaxis and treatment. As posaconazole strongly inhibits CYP3A4, concurrent administration of sirolimus, a CYP3A4 substrate, and posaconazole has been reported to increase sirolimus drug exposure substantially. Coadministration of posaconazole and sirolimus is contraindicated by the manufacturer of posaconazole. We identified 15 patients who underwent HSCTs at our institution receiving a steady-state dose of sirolimus who subsequently started posaconazole therapy from January 2006 to March 2009. We recorded baseline characteristics, drug administration details, and potential adverse effects related to either drug. All patients underwent HSCTs for treatment of hematologic malignancy. All patients were initially prescribed sirolimus for GVHD prophylaxis and continued therapy after developing GVHD. Twelve patients (80%) received posaconazole for IFD prophylaxis in the setting of GVHD and 3 (20%) for IFD treatment. Patients received sirolimus and posaconazole concurrently for a median of 78 days (interquartile range [IQR] 25-177; range, 6-503). The median daily dose of sirolimus (2 mg/day) before initiation of posaconazole was reduced 50% to a median daily dose of 1 mg/day at steady state. Six patients experienced sirolimus trough levels greater than 12 ng/mL during coadministration, but only 1 patient experienced an adverse event potentially associated with sirolimus exposure during the first month of coadministration. This patient's sirolimus dose was empirically reduced by only 30% on posaconazole initiation. Concurrent sirolimus and posaconazole use seems to be well tolerated with a 33% to 50% empiric sirolimus dose reduction and close monitoring of serum sirolimus trough levels at the time of posaconazole initiation.
Lipopolysaccharide responsiveness in vocal fold fibroblasts.

Vocal fold fibroblast’s (VFF) strategic location in the lamina propria and their ability to respond to external stimuli by producing inflammatory molecules suggest their possible direct involvement in innate immunity. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are an essential signaling component to this response, as they allow for recognition of various microorganisms, leading to subsequent induction of pro-inflammatory genes. The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of VFF in the host immune response and subsequent influence on inflammatory cytokine secretion. VFF derived from polyp, scar, and normal tissue were treated with 5 μg/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS). TLR1 through 9, CD14, and MD-2 were measured during stable conditions by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Expression of TLR4 and IL-1R type-1 genes were quantified after 24 hrs LPS stimulation by reverse transcription-PCR. LPS responsiveness was determined by NF-κB nuclear translocation as measured by subunit p65 expression in nucleus with immunocytochemistry. Downstream effects were confirmed with immunoassay measuring IL-8 concentrations in supernatant after 8 hrs. All VFFs constitutively expressed TLR1 to 6, TLR9, CD14, and MD-2 mRNA. Polyp VFF exhibited significantly higher TLR4 transcript levels (p < 0.001) in comparison to scar and normal VFF. LPS stimulated scar and polyp VFF exhibited increased levels of p65 in the nucleus (p < 0.01) and secreted greater IL-8 protein (p < 0.0001) compared to normal VFF. VFF constitutively express genes for the receptors essential to the host immune response. Scar and polyp VFF produced greater LPS responsiveness resulting in over-activated inflammatory patterns. These findings support VFF role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory vocal fold disorders and suggests their presence in the wound bed could lead to chronic inflammation.
Designing real-time H.264 decoders with dataflow architectures

High performance microprocessors are designed with general-purpose applications in mind. When it comes to embedded applications, these architectures typically perform control-intensive tasks in a System-on-Chip (SoC) design. But they are significantly inefficient for data-intensive tasks such as video encoding/decoding. Although configurable processors fill this gap by complementing the existing functional units with instruction extensions, their performance lags behind the needs of real-time embedded tasks. In this paper, we evaluate the performance potential of a dataflow processor for H.264 video decoding. We first profile the H.264 application to capture the amount of data traffic among modules. We use this information to guide the placement of H.264 modules in the WaveScalar dataflow architecture. A simulated annealing based placement algorithm produces the final placement aiming to optimize the communication costs between the modules in the dataflow architecture. In addition to outperforming contemporary embedded and customized processors, our simulated annealing guided design shows a speedup of 13% in execution time over the original WaveScalar architecture. With our dataflow design methodology, emerging embedded applications requiring several GOPS to meet real-time constraints can be drafted within a reasonable amount of design time.
Intracellular Survival of Campylobacter jejuni in Human Monocytic Cells and Induction of Apoptotic Death by Cytholethal Distending Toxin

Campylobacter jejuni 81-176 is capable of extensive replication within human monocytic cell vacuoles and induces apoptotic death via cytolethal distending toxin.
Opsomyoclonus and Neuroblastoma Response to ACTH

Children with neuroblastoma whose opsomyoclonus recurs or persists after initial surgery should be carefully evaluated for tumor. If no tumor is detectable, therapy with ACTH should be considered in patients whose sympto matology is severe enough to compromise normal development.
CYTOSKELETAL CHANGES DURING SPERMATOGENESIS IN CHARA ANTHERIDIA

Cytoskeletal changes during spermatogenesis in Chara proceed from regular mitotic divisions to specific events associated with the formation of sperm cells. During mitosis the antheridial filaments show three micro- tubule systems: cortical, transverse microtubule arrays during interphase develop into mitotic spindle in prophase, metaphase and anaphase, and eventually form a phragmoplast during telophase. We document a quadripolar mitotic spindle during metaphase. The actin organization during spermato- genesis differ from that of the microtubules: During interphase, F-actin forms a network covering the nucleus and an actin plate develops adjacent to the cell walls between dividing cells and some actin filaments extend from the plate toward chromosomes during prophase, metaphase and anaphase; at telophase, F-actins is part of the phragmoplast. Cell differentiation begins with lateral movement of nucleus, development of manchette MTs along the nucleus and eventually flagella form at one end of the manchette MTs. The manchette MTs elongate and surround the nucleus, which then elongates to a crest-like structure before forming a helical shape. The last stages of maturation are characterized by the disappearance of manchette MTs but flagella remain. The susceptibility of MTs to oryzalin during spermatogenesis depends on the developmental stage. MTs during mitosis depolymerized by 5 µM oryzalin but the same treatment was ineffective in differentiating cells. During cell differentiation cortical MTs were deploy- merized by 50 µM oryzalin, but manchette MTs and flagella were not affected. In mature sperm, oryzalin treatment stabilized manchette MTs and flagella. ______
P02.129. Individualized chiropractic and integrative care for low back pain: a randomized clinical trial

Purpose To determine the relative effectiveness of multidisciplinary integrative care compared to chiropractic care for chronic LBP in patients over 18 years of age using pain as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes were patient self-reported disability, global perceived effect, general health status, satisfaction, self-efficacy, fear avoidance behavior, lumbar dynamic motion, and trunk muscle strength and endurance.
Choline acetyltransferase levels in diencephalic nuclei of the rat.

— Choline acetyltransferase levels have been measured in specific nuclei of the diencephalon. On the whole, the thalamic nuclei contain higher concentrations of this enzyme than do the hypothalamic and preoptic nuclei. Those nuclei which seem to receive the most dense cholinergic innervation contain the highest levels of choline acetyltransferase.
A Call to Arms for Management Plane Analytics

Over the last few decades, the networking community has developed numerous techniques for understanding how real networks behave through analyzing their data and control planes. In this paper, we call upon the community to similarly develop techniques to analyze the network management plane, that is, activities that underlie network design and operation. Such analytics can shed light on why a network behaves as observed and the relative merits of different management practices. While the management plane is often not directly observable, we argue that many relevant aspects can be inferred through data that most networks already gather (e.g., snapshots of configurations). Using preliminary analysis of such data from many large networks, we demonstrate the feasibility and the value of management plane analytics.
Understanding sharing preferences and behavior for mHealth devices

If people are not in control of the collection and sharing of their personal health information collected using mobile health (mHealth) devices and applications, privacy concerns could limit their willingness to use and reduce potential benefits provided via mHealth. We investigated users' willingness to share their personal information, collected using mHealth sensing devices, with their family, friends, third parties, and the public. Previous work employed hypothetical scenarios, surveys and interviews to understand people's information-sharing behavior; to the best of our knowledge, ours is the first privacy study where participants actually have the option to share their own information with real people. We expect our results can guide the development of privacy controls for mobile devices and applications that collect any personal and activity information, not restricted to health or fitness information.Our study revealed three interesting findings about people's privacy concerns regarding their sensed health information: 1) We found that people share certain health information less with friends and family than with strangers, but more with specific third parties than the public. 2) Information that people were less willing to share could be information that is indirectly collected by the mobile devices. 3) We confirmed that privacy concerns are not static; mHealth device users may change their sharing decisions over time. Based on our findings, we emphasize the need for sensible default settings and flexible privacy controls to allow people to choose different settings for different recipients, and to change their sharing settings at any time.
Africa two: a proposal for a concentric two-ring network for the african continent

In the challenging social/geographical environment in Africa, how to design a robust network while tolerating the traffic imbalance is studied in this paper. We propose the Africa TWO network which connects all countries in Africa by employing two concentric rings. We investigate an Integer Linear Programming model and develop heuristic algorithms to deal with some special issues in Africa, such as a large desert in North Africa, high-speed network connectivity to the rest of the world through a few existing undersea fiber cables, and traffic imbalance caused by the differential populations of the various countries. To further exploit the properties of the designed network, we propose Little-Arc-First (LAF) routing algorithm, First-Matching (FM) wavelength assignment, and Sharing Peer Protection (SPP) scheme. The proposed algorithms LAF and FM are more efficient than existing algorithms. Sharing Peer Protection (SPP) scheme achieves high reliability in a cost- effective manner. We also address how to upgrade the network to achieve longer network lifetime for overall economic benefit. Our simulation experiments demonstrate that the concentric two-ring network is a natural candidate not only for the African continent, but can also be extended to other countries and regions.
The role of perfusion CT in identifying stroke mimics in the emergency room: a case of status epilepticus presenting with perfusion CT alterations

Emergency medicine physicians are often faced with the challenging task of differentiating true acute ischemic strokes from stroke mimics. We present a case that was initially diagnosed as acute stroke. However, perfusion CT and EEG eventually led to the final diagnosis of status epilepticus. This case further asserts the role of CT perfusion in the evaluation of patients with stroke mimics in the emergency room setting.
Adjuvant radiation therapy for regional nodal metastases from malignant melanoma. A randomized, prospective study

After nodal metastasis from malignant melanoma, approximately 80% of patients die from disseminated disease. To clarify the role of radiation therapy (XRT) following node dissection. 56 patients with biopsy-proven nodal metastasis participated in a randomized, prospective clinical trial which compares radiation therapy to the regional lymph node area following lymphadenectomy (27 patients) with lymphadenectomy alone (29 patients). Interesting differences in the survival curves (p = 0.09) and in the disease-free interval curves (p = 0.08) for the two treatment groups proved to be attributable to imbalances in the age and nodal distributions in the treatment groups. Covariate analysis identified age and sex as the factors having the most significant (p less than 0.04) effect on survival and identified the number of positive nodes as the covariate having the most significant (p less than 0.02) effect on disease-free interval. Treatment did not have a significant effect upon survival or disease-free interval.
Characteristics of coal combustion products (CCP's) from kentucky power plants, with emphasis on mercury content

Abstract The Center for Applied Energy Research conducts a survey of Kentucky's coal-fired power plants every five years. The last survey was conducted in 2002 and covered most units at all of the plants in Kentucky. Special emphasis was placed on the spatial distribution of ash products, with each row of ESP's or baghouses samples wherever possible. In this manner, we can track the change in concentration of trace elements with relative temperature of the flue gas. Certain elements, such as Zn, Pb, and As, are known to be temperature dependent. The behavior of Hg, while also temperature dependent, is more complex owing to the adsorption of Hg on fly ash carbon. The survey provides a wide array of coal sources, ESP/baghouse collection temperatures, and fly ash carbon composition, all important in determining the behavior of Hg in the flue gas. In addition, many plants have FGD systems, allowing an assessment of the efficiency of FGD in capturing Hg from the post-ESP flue gas.
Beyond Macro and Micro in the Linguistic Anthropology of Education

This special issue explores whether the heuristics “macro” and “micro” capture the most important levels of explanation in the anthropology of education. Recent work suggests that we must move beyond a macro–micro approach. This introduction sketches reasons for going beyond macro and micro and reviews alternative approaches to explaining cultural and educational processes. The following articles illustrate such alternatives and develop their own arguments about macro, micro, and other relevant scales. [timescales, agency, structure, language use, social theory]
Beckwith's syndrome with extreme organ hyperplasia.

A large newborn infant with hemihypertrophy, omphalocele, hepatomegaly, left upper quadrant abdominal mass, and zoster-like skin rash had severe hypoglycemia at 4 hours of age. Serum immunoreactive insulin levels were markedly elevated. Hypoglycemia was not controlled by vigorous medical therapy but blood glucose levels returned toward normal following subtotal excision of the markedly hyperplastic pancreas at 24 days of age. At 4½ months of age, a right upper quadrant abdominal mass was noted and urinary adrenal steroid levels were elevated. The right adrenal gland was found to be markedly hyperplastic and it was removed; the left adrenal gland was slightly hyperplastic. Between the ages of 5 and 8 months the umbilical stump enlarged progressively forming a large pedunculated tumor which was removed. This patient presents an unusually severe example of Beckwith9s syndrome with both prenatal and postnatal organ overgrowth, severe hypoglycemia and hyperinsulinism.
Variability of cardiac output as determined by impedance cardiography in pacemaker patients

Abstract Hemodynamic assessment of pacemaker patients is necessary for gauging responses to changes in programming or other conditions affecting circulation. Impedance cardiography permits noninvasive determinations of cardiac output at short intervals but data regarding variability of this method in patients with pacemakers is unavailable. Thirty-eight patients with pacemakers (24 with DDD and 14 with WI devices) and 6 normal subjects were studied. Each patient was studied in the supine position and repeated impedance measurements were obtained. Fourteen patients were studied during sinus rhythm, 24 were studied during DDD pacing, and 32 patients were studied during WI pacing. Variability was assessed by methods that analyzed both serial measurements and variability between 2 consecutive and nonconsecutive measurements. The mean indexes and coefficients of variation of 2 and serial measurements in sinus rhythm and DDD were 4%; in WI it was 6%. The precision of impedance cardiography in all pacing modes, as demonstrated by analysis of variability, indicates that detected changes of stroke volume and cardiac output >7% on serial (2 and more) measurements, performed by the same operator and during the same session, represent true hemodynamic alterations with 95% confidence. The precision of impedance cardiography demonstrated may be comparable or superior to other frequently used techniques, and the data obtained are valuable both investigationally and clinically.
A small molecule that directs differentiation of human ESCs into the pancreatic lineage

Stepwise differentiation from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to functional insulin-secreting beta cells will identify key steps in beta-cell development and may yet prove useful for transplantation therapy for diabetics. An essential step in this schema is the generation of pancreatic progenitors—cells that express Pdx1 and produce all the cell types of the pancreas. High-content chemical screening identified a small molecule, (−)-indolactam V, that induces differentiation of a substantial number of Pdx1-expressing cells from human ESCs. The Pdx1-expressing cells express other pancreatic markers and contribute to endocrine, exocrine and duct cells, in vitro and in vivo. Further analyses showed that (−)-indolactam V works specifically at one stage of pancreatic development, inducing pancreatic progenitors from definitive endoderm. This study describes a chemical screening platform to investigate human ESC differentiation and demonstrates the generation of a cell population that is a key milepost on the path to making beta cells.
Confidence estimation for speculation control

Modern processors improve instruction level parallelism by speculation. The outcome of data and control decisions is predicted, and the operations are speculatively executed and only committed if the original predictions were correct. There are a number of other ways that processor resources could be used, such as threading or eager execution. As the use of speculation increases, we believe more processors will need some form of speculation control to balance the benefits of speculation against other possible activities.Confidence estimation is one technique that can be exploited by architects for speculation control. In this paper, we introduce performance metrics to compare confidence estimation mechanisms, and argue that these metrics are appropriate for speculation control. We compare a number of confidence estimation mechanisms, focusing on mechanisms that have a small implementation cost and gain benefit by exploiting characteristics of branch predictors, such as clustering of mispredicted branches.We compare the performance of the different confidence estimation methods using detailed pipeline simulations. Using these simulations, we show how to improve some confidence estimators, providing better insight for future investigations comparing and applying confidence estimators.
Freezing Tolerance of Three St. Augustinegrass Cultivars as Affected by Stolon Carbohydrate and Water Content

Little is known about intraspecific variability in St. Augustinegrass ( Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze) freezing tolerance and the physiological factors that may influence survival. Stolons of field-grown 'Raleigh', 'Floratam', and FX-332 St. Augustinegrass were sampled between October and March in 1990 to 1991 and 1991 to 1992 to measure freezing tolerance, nonstructural carbohydrates, and water content. Stolons were exposed to temperatures between 1 and -8C in a freezer, and regrowth was evaluated in the greenhouse. Generally, freezing tolerance of 'Raleigh' > 'Floratam' = FX-332. 'Raleigh' exhibited >60% survival in December and January, while survival of 'Floratam' and FX-332 was <20%. 'Raleigh' was the only cultivar that acclimated, as indicated by a 75% increase in survival between October and December 1990. Starch and sucrose were the primary storage carbohydrates extracted from stolons, but neither was correlated with freezing tolerance. A negative ( r = -0.80) correlation was observed between 'Raleigh' survival and stolon water content between January and March 1991. Reduced water content in 'Raleigh' stolons during winter months may contribute to acclimation.
The Judicial Process

This chapter explores the nature and conduct of pretrial discovery and the deposition process from the physician’s point of view. Practical suggestions for witness preparation and guides to recognition of the methods, procedures, and goals of the plaintiff attorney are presented. Courtroom deportment is discussed, and model questions and appropriate responses are included.
Predictors of high-risk and low-risk oral HPV infection in the United States.

Objectives/Hypothesis Determine predictors of high-risk and low-risk oral HPV infection in the United States. Study Design Retrospective analyses of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cross-sectional data of U.S. population from 2009 to 2012. Methods Database queried for subjects aged 18 to 69 with oral rinse human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA data. Logistic regression identified factors associated with high-risk and low-risk infection. Covariates included age, gender, ethnicity, income-to-poverty (IP) ratio, sexual orientation, human immunodeficiency virus infection, other sexually transmitted infections, lifetime sexual partners, and lifetime oral sex partners. Results In total, 9,256 subjects were identified with mean age of 42.1 years. Oral HPV infection was present in 8.1% (N = 747); 55.7% were high-risk and 55.3% were low-risk types, including 11% with both. Oral infection had a negative association with female gender (odds ratio [OR] 0.3, P 20 sexual partners (all sex OR 1.7, P = 0.04; oral sex OR 1.9, P = 0.02). Predictors of high-risk HPV infection included male gender and increasing oral sex partners. Conclusion Increasing oral sex partners is positively associated with oral HPV infection; female sex and higher socioeconomic class are negatively associated. The risk-factor profiles for high-risk and low-risk HPV types are distinct, with similar trends related to sexual behaviors. Level of Evidence 4. Laryngoscope, 126:1365–1372, 2016
Some closure features of locally testable affine-invariant properties

We prove that the class of locally testable affine-invariant properties is closed under sums, intersections and “lifts”. The sum and intersection are two natural operations on linear spaces of functions, where the sum of two properties is simply their sum as a vector space. The “lift” is a less natural property that has been studied before. Previously such results were known for “single-orbit characterized” affine-invariant properties, which known to be a subclass of locally testable ones, and are potentially a strict subclass. The fact that the intersection of locallytestable affine-invariant properties are locally testable could have been derived from previously known general results on closure of property testing under set-theoretic operations, but was not explicitly observed before. The closure under sum and lifts is implied by an affirmative answer to a central question attempting to characterize locally testable affine-invariant properties, but the status of that question remains wide open. Affine-invariant properties are clean abstractions of commonly studied, and extensively used, algebraic properties such linearity and low-degree. Thus far it is not known what makes affineinvariant properties locally testable — no characterizations are known, and till this work it was not clear if they satisfied any closure properties . This work shows that the class of locally testable affine-invariant properties are closed under some very natural operations. Our techniques use ones previously developed for the study of “single-orbit characterized” properties, but manage to apply them to the potentially more general class of all locally testable ones via a simple connection that may be of broad interest in the study of affine-invariant properties. ∗CSAIL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA, USA. aguo@mit.edu. Research supported in part by NSF grants CCF-0829672, CCF-1065125, and CCF-6922462. †Microsoft Research New England, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. madhu@mit.edu.
Application of the unsteady two-dimensional aerodynamic model to common dragonfly maneuvers

The kinematic variability of dragonfly wing motions required for hovering, for escaping and for sustained forward flight is explored in the framework of the unsteady two-dimensional model. This model is compared with the helicopter model and quasi-static wing approximation advocated by Russenberger. An explanation for the unusual in-phase stroking of the dragonfly wing pairs observed by Alexander during the escape mode is proposed. Visualization of vortex street formation for the model is reframed in the context of dragonfly hovering.
Sensory feedback in human posture control

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Thesis. 1970. Sc.D.
Characteristics of a high-risk minority population

21141 Background: Black and Hispanic breast cancer patients have a worse outcome when compared to Caucasians. This could be due to socioeconomic, cultural or biologic factors. We hypothesized that ...
Multimodal Control of Constrained Nonlinear Systems

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Formulation of Multimodal Control Problem A Mode Switching Condition Mode Sequence Synthesis Multimodal Control of a Helicopter-Based UAV Hybrid and Embedded System Models Conclusion References
SIMULTANEOUS BILATERAL TKA: DOUBLE TROUBLE – OPPOSES

In this paper, we will consider the current role of simultaneous-bilateral TKA. Based on available evidence, it is our opinion that bilateral one stage TKR is a safe and efficacious treatment for patients with severe bilateral arthritic knee disease but should be reserved for selected patients without significant medical comorbidities.