cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GAP ACCEPTANCE AT ATYPICAL STOP-CONTROLLED INTERSECTIONS

A gap acceptance study was performed at a T-intersection at which left-turn traffic on the through leg had the right-of-way. A number of methods were used to model the critical gap size at this atypical intersection. The critical lag and gap values varied according to the method used to compute them, and the different movement or conflict combinations exhibited different critical values. On the approach required to stop, representative values ranged from a 7.8-s critical gap with the higher priority traffic stream from the right, to a 2.2-s critical lag with the highest priority traffic from the opposite direction. The drivers involved in certain movement or conflict patterns at this intersection with the atypical right-of-way pattern were quite comfortable with short lags and gaps.
In vitro and in vivo characterization of porous poly-l-lactic acid coatings for subcutaneously implanted glucose sensors

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that porous poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) sensor coatings reduce fibrosis and promote blood microvessel formation in tissue adjacent to the sensor surface. Porous PLLA coatings were produced using ammonium bicarbonate as the gas foaming/salt leaching agent, and deployed on functional and nonfunctional sensors. The porous coatings minimally affected sensor accuracy and response rate in vitro. Three-week subcutaneous rat studies of nonfunctional glucose sensors showed the anticipated effect of porous coatings enhancing vascularity and decreasing collagen deposition. In contrast, percutaneous functional sensors with and without porous coatings showed no significant difference in terms of histology or sensor response. In spite of the observation that texturing increases the vascularity of the tissue that surrounds implanted sensors, other factors such as the additional mechanical stresses imposed by percutaneous tethering may override the beneficial effects of the porous coatings.
Skin deep: what can the study of dermal fibroblasts teach us about dilated cardiomyopathy?

Human heart tissue is difficult to obtain. Its procurement depends upon access to a center at which heart transplants or ventricular assist device implantations occur, as well as a willingness to serve science at odd hours and on short notice. As if these barriers weren’t sufficiently discouraging to the would-be translational investigator, there are specific and thorny challenges associated with isolating, culturing, and studying human cardiomyocytes. Even observations made in meticulously procured human myocardium and cardiomyocytes are subject to limitations, as outlined in a thoughtful review published previously in this journal. [1] Thus the cardiovascular research community relies largely upon animal models to study myocardial disease, the most common of which is the genetically altered mouse. Such models often do predict human biology accurately, however testing their inherent assumptions is undeniably important and remains central to the biomedical research enterprise. In this regard, the availability of human heart tissue stands as one significant rate-limiting step in faithful translation, and novel approaches to the investigation of human myocardial biology are needed.
A Multidimensional Evaluation of a Treatment Program for Female Batterers: A Pilot Study:

The purpose of the study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of a batterer intervention program by investigating changes in psychological variables related to abuse (i.e., truthfulness, violence, lethality, control, and stress coping abilities) between pretreatment and posttreatment assessments in a sample of women involuntarily placed in treatment. This study evaluated arrest records for a period of 12 months following treatment completion to determine the association between changes on these psychological variables and recidivism. The study employed a secondary analysis of 26 treatment completers involuntarily referred into treatment for domestic violence offenses. Analysis indicated that treatment completers were less passive/aggressive and less likely to use physical force on their partners at the conclusion of the treatment program. Implications of the findings for social workers providing treatment services to female domestic violence offenders are explored and discussed.
Saturated photodissociation of CsI

Abstract Every CsI molecule in a small volume was photodissociated with a laser pulse; a second pulsed laser detected each Cs atom through resonance ionization spectroscopy. Besides proving one-molecule detection, we obtained cross sections for photodissociation of CsI as a function of wavelength.
Shoulder and elbow function 2 years following long head triceps interposition flap transfer for massive rotator cuff tear reconstruction

Patient outcomes were determined at a minimum of 2 years following massive rotator cuff tear ( ≥ 5 cm2) reconstruction using a triceps brachii long head interposition flap. A physiotherapist at an independent clinic performed all measurements. Of 24 total eligible patients, 19 completed pre-operative and follow-up UCLA Shoulder Scores and ASES Function Scores. Of these 19 patients, 14 who did not have co-morbidities that negatively impacted their ability to perform intense exercise underwent a comprehensive clinical examination of involved and uninvolved side shoulder and elbow active range of motion and strength (both isometric instrumented manual muscle testing and concentric isokinetic measurements). At 2 years following surgery, pre-operative UCLA Shoulder Scores improved from 10.6 ± 3 to 27.4 ± 5 and pre-operative ASES Function Scores improved from 20.1 ± 10 to 43.2 ± 5. However, isometric involved side shoulder abductor torque was decreased by 28.2% with instrumented manual muscle testing, and concentric shoulder external rotator torque was decreased by 44.6% at 60°/s and by 53.8% at 120°/s with isokinetic testing. Isometric involved side elbow extensor torque was decreased by 39% with instrumented manual muscle testing, and concentric elbow extensor torque was decreased by 17.7% and 19.2% at 60 and 120°/s, respectively, with isokinetic testing. Including three additional patients who were contacted via telephone, the majority of patients (21 of 22, 95.4%) were satisfied with their improved shoulder function and reduced pain. Despite reduced pain and improved shoulder function, residual involved side shoulder abductor; shoulder external rotator and elbow extensor strength deficits were evident at 2 years following surgery. This suggests the need for more focused rehabilitation, particularly for involved side elbow extensor strengthening to further improve patient function and minimize disability.
Temperature-responsive surface-functionalized polyethylene films

Polyethylene−poly(ethylene glycol) co-oligomers were used to surface functionalize polyethylene films via an entrapment process. When immersed in water, the poly(ethylene glycol) groups at these surfaces had solvation behavior that resembled the known inverse temperature-dependent solubility properties of poly(ethylene glycol) in water. The responsiveness of these films' surfaces was characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy and kinetic studies using pyrene ester labels. Changes in the ratio of the I1/I3 peaks in the emission spectrum of the pyrene probe showed that the interface micropolarity was higher at low temperature and lower at high temperature. Repeated heating and cooling (5 °C → 65 °C → 5 °C → 65 °C) with the same sample showed that these interface changes were substantially reversible. Interface solvation was measured by comparing I1/I3 ratios for pyrene-labeled oligomers in water, ethanol, and toluene solutions with similar labels on films suspended in these same solvents. The results show t...
Construction Risks: Single versus Portfolio Insurance

Risks and uncertainties are naturally inherent in the construction industry and negatively affect contracting parties and executed projects. This paper explores the possibility of insuring against construction risks, which are beyond the control of contractors and not covered by surety policies, through single and portfolio insurance strategies. Accordingly, the writers programmed Iman and Conover’s bootstrapping method for inducing correlations using Microsoft Excel and consequently, developed a technique for pricing insurance premiums as an exotic option using Monte Carlo simulation. The aforementioned methodology was applied on a data set of five defined risks that were collected from small, medium, and large scale projects in California. Pursuant to this study, the calculated premiums for insuring against the defined risks are in line with the premiums available in market for other insurance policies. Moreover, the estimated premium for the proposed portfolio insurance product is more advantageous to ...
Role of Nrf2 in suppressing LPS-induced inflammation in mouse peritoneal macrophages by polyunsaturated fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid.

This study is to investigate the role of Nrf2 in suppressing LPS-mediated inflammation in ex vivo macrophages by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic a...
Project-Based Service-Learning and Student Motivation

We know from motivation theory that enhanced motivation in students is positively correlated with engagement and active learning, interest, and value. We know less about the types of instructional strategies and curricular interventions that work to enhance student motivation in a typical engineering course. Grounded in motivation theory, the purpose of this research is to evaluate how the context of project-based service-learning affects aspects of student motivation in a required undergraduate Mechanical Engineering course. Our research aims to answer: 1) How does project-based service learning affect students’ motivation as compared to conventional (non-service) project-based learning? 2) How are women affected differentially by project-based service-learning? The research, which began in 2010, is being completed over a two-year period. The students and activities in Component Design, an existing junior-level course at the University of Colorado at Boulder, will serve as the research focus. Specifically, project-based service-learning curriculum will be implemented into a required design and build activity for Component Design students. Using a conventional design project as the control, how the context of project-based service learning affects aspects of student motivation will be studied. This paper will discuss the research design, theoretical framework, and the results from our first year of research. Our objective is to provide a more thorough understanding of the effects of service-learning on engineering education. Although service-learning may not be appropriate for every engineering course, we can strive to identify and implement specific elements of service-learning that are correlated with student motivation.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Changes in visuospatial attention over the adult lifespan

Abstract Shifts of visual attention elicited by spatial cues were examined for detection and letter-discrimination tasks in 90 normal adults ranging in age over each decade from the 20s to the 70s. Spatial cues were valid, invalid, or neutral in indicating probable target location and were presented either centrally at fixation or peripherally 6.7° to the left or right of fixation. Stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between cue and target was varied between 200, 500 and 2000 msec. Reaction time (RT) costs and benefits associated with spatial cueing did not vary with age for: (1) the detection task; (2) the letter-discrimination task with peripheral cues; and (3) the letter-discrimination task with central cues at a short (200 msec) SOA. RT costs and benefits increased with age only for SOAs greater than 200 msec with central cueing in the discrimination task. In general, the efficiency of cue-based shifts of visuospatial attention appears relatively resistant to the effects of adult age up to 79 years. When an age effect was found, RT costs and benefits increased steadily across all age decades, the correlation with age being 0.25 and 0.38 for the 500 and 2000 msec SOAs, respectively. The findings suggest a qualitative difference in the influence of normal adult aging and effects of dementia noted in previous studies; normal aging has only a weak influence on voluntary attention shifts, whereas dementia affects both voluntary and involuntary modes of attention shifting.
In vitro production of megakaryocytes from PIXY321 versus GM-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells.

The generation of megakaryocytes (MK) from cultured peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBSC), harvested via apheresis, from 18 female breast cancer patients treated with either PIXY321 or GM-CSF was compared. Nonadherent mononuclear cells (MNC) were cultured in liquid suspension with 50 U/ml thrombopoietin (TPO) and 2.5% autologous heparinized plasma for 12 days. Flow cytometric analysis was used to measure the percentage of CD34+ on day 1 and CD41+ cells on day 12. The frequency of CD34+ cells was greater in GM-CSF-mobilized samples than in PIXY321-mobilized samples, and MK/MNC yields correlated directly with the number of CD34+ cells seeded. PIXY321-mobilized samples produced more MKs per CD34+ cell than GM-CSF-mobilized samples. Overall, there was no significant difference in the MK/MNC yield between PIXY321- and GM-CSF-mobilized samples. Cyclophosphamide (CY) increased the frequency of CD34+ cells and the corresponding MK/MNC yield for both cytokines, but had no effect on the MK/CD34+ yield. Compared to GM-CSF, PIXY321 mobilization resulted in increased CD34+ cell commitment to the MK lineage.
Survey of continuing education needs for nonemergency physicians in emergency medicine

A questionnaire was mailed to every physician in Iowa (2,551) to determine their need for continued education in emergency medicine. There were 884 usable responses (34.7%). Results revealed a low incidence of formal education in emergency medicine, particularly at the undergraduate and graduate levels, with a greater incidence of continued education in the field. Approximately half of the responding physicians felt they treat an emergency patient at least once a week. The primary conclusion of the study is that continued education in basic emergency medical care is perceived as being necessary by physicians who are not specialists in emergency medicine, but, nevertheless, treat patients with medical emergencies. Physicians were most interested in education in basic life saving procedures, such as airway maintenance and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Parental Involvement in Pediatric Cardiology Outpatient Visits

There is a lack of information regarding parental involvement in subspecialty care of their offspring. We evaluated trends in 3,118 parental visits, accompanied by their children to a pediatric cardiology office during a 5-year period. Offspring accompanied both parents 29%, mothers alone 64%, and fathers alone 5% of the total visits. The rates were similar for first-time visits and this trend was similar across all 5 years. Children were significantly younger when accompanied by both parents than by individual parents. Mothers play a major role in a child's subspecialty care. Our findings have important educational, social, research, and marketing implications.
A 16-bit A-D-A conversion system for high-fidelity audio research

An A-D and D-A converter system with exceptionally wide dynamic range and low distortion is discussed. The system utilizes 12-bit floating-point approximation at conversion instead of true 16-bit conversion. A deglitching track and hold is illustrated which avoids heterodyning between signal components and the sample clock. Rate-limiting during the transition from hold to track is discussed.
Motor neuron activation in peripheral nerves using infrared neural stimulation

Objective. Localized activation of peripheral axons may improve selectivity of peripheral nerve interfaces. Infrared neural stimulation (INS) employs localized delivery to activate neural tissue. This study investigated INS to determine whether localized delivery limited functionality in larger mammalian nerves. Approach. The rabbit sciatic nerve was stimulated extraneurally with 1875?nm wavelength infrared light, electrical stimulation, or a combination of both. Infrared-sensitive regions (ISR) of the nerve surface and electromyogram (EMG) recruitment of the Medial Gastrocnemius, Lateral Gastrocnemius, Soleus, and Tibialis Anterior were the primary output measures. Stimulation applied included infrared-only, electrical-only, and combined infrared and electrical. Main results. 81% of nerves tested were sensitive to INS, with 1.7 ? 0.5 ISR detected per nerve. INS was selective to a single muscle within 81% of identified ISR. Activation energy threshold did not change significantly with stimulus power, but motor activation decreased significantly when radiant power was decreased. Maximum INS levels typically recruited up to 2?9% of any muscle. Combined infrared and electrical stimulation differed significantly from electrical recruitment in 7% of cases. Significance. The observed selectivity of INS indicates that it may be useful in augmenting rehabilitation, but significant challenges remain in increasing sensitivity and response magnitude to improve the functionality of INS.
Broadband modelling along a regional shield path, Harvard recording of the Saguenay earthquake

SUMMARY The Saguenay earthquake, 1988 November 25, is one of the first large shield type events recorded by a broadband-high dynamic range instrument, the Streckeisen system, installed at Harvard station (HRV). The event is sufficiently large to be well recorded teleseismically and thus the source characteristics can be determined by independent means and considered known. This allows a detailed study of the propagational effects along this path, at an epicentral distance of 625 km, where the strengths of the surface waves can be compared with the crustal body phases. Broadband modelling using standard analytical techniques and flat layered models works amazingly well over the period range of 0.5–20 s. A detailed strategy for modelling broadband regional phases is given in terms of a decomposition of the vertical and radial seismograms into three segments: Pnl (containing Pn, pPn, sPn, PmP, P coupled PL-waves); Snl (containing Sn, sSn, SmS, etc.); and the fundamental Rayleigh waves. Information about the upper crust is obtained from the fundamental Rayleigh waves while crustal thickness and velocity gradients in the mantle are obtained from Pnl and Snl. This particular crustal model has a thickness of 35 km with a sharp Moho and a substantial gradient in the top 20 km of the mantle, 0.01 km s−1 per km for both P and S velocities. The mantle velocities, α= 8.2 and β= 4.55 km s−1 are slower than expected for a shield environment. Attenuation is not required for waveform modelling or for absolute amplitude estimation.
Patient Safety in Plastic Surgery

V. Leroy Young, Richard Botney, MD, Editors. Patient Safety in Plastic Surgery. St. Louis, MO: Quality Medical Publishing, 2009 ISBN-10: 1576262804 ISBN-13: 978-1576262801 Patient Safety in Plastic Surgery is the first comprehensive text on this complex and critical topic. As noted in the introductory chapter, “Safety in plastic surgery covers a broad spectrum of medical, surgical, and anesthetic issues.” Indeed, grasping the wide variety of topics related to patient safety and the data that are available to guide evidence-based practices (as well as pointing out the areas in which data are insufficient) is a formidable task. To assist in this challenge, the editors have wisely solicited the expertise of numerous contributors from such diverse backgrounds as anesthesia, critical care, infectious disease, cardiology, psychiatry, neurology, and law, in addition to surgery. The 621 pages of Patient Safety in Plastic Surgery are efficiently organized into five parts. The first, Basic Considerations, covers issues related to the patient safety movement, an overview of the role of systems and processes, and …
Routing Procedures in Communications Networks-Part II: Directory Procedures

This part of the report on routing procedures is devoted to procedures involving no random choices. Estimates of the average traverse time of each message and average traffic flow through each node are derived by statistical methods and compared with the corresponding results obtained in Part I for routing procedures based on random choices. These estimates are verified by means of a large-scale simulation experiment. The overwhelming advantages of directory procedures in efficiency and capacity of operation are expressed quantitatively by these results. The disadvantages of directory procedures are also investigated. Principal among these are the necessity of determining optimal routes from directory information and maintaining the directories in the presence of a hostile or fluid environment. Estimates of the degradation characteristics of such procedures are obtained under various assumptions on the effects of the environment. The final section presents a summary and conclusions.
Spectroscopic identification of carbonate minerals in the martian dust.

Thermal infrared spectra of the martian surface indicate the presence of small concentrations (∼2 to 5 weight %) of carbonates, specifically dominated by magnesite (MgCO 3 ). The carbonates are widely distributed in the martian dust, and there is no indication of a concentrated source. The presence of small concentrations of carbonate minerals in the surface dust and in martian meteorites can sequester several bars of atmospheric carbon dioxide and may have been an important sink for a thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere in the martian past.
RF and DC power handling characterization of thin film resistors embedded on LCP

For the first time, the DC and RF power handling capability of NiCrAISi thin film resistors on liquid crystal polymer (LCP) is presented. It is shown that there is a maximum power that the resistors can handle without causing degradation of the resistors, and this value is significantly less than the power required for burn out of the resistors. ED AX shows that the resistors fail due to electromigration of Ni and Cr, and migration of C from the LCP.
On the asymptotic behavior of some nonlinear fifth-order delay-differential systems

The asymptotic stability of solutions of a class of fifth order delay-differential equations is presented. The results are an extension to Sinha's third and fourth order systems. The results obtained seem to be as general as recent analogous treatments of third and fourth order delay differential equations.
Towards High-Order Fluctuation-Splitting Schemes for Navier-Stokes Equations

This paper reports progress towards high-order uctuation-splitt ing schemes for the Navier-Stokes Equations. High-order schemes we examined previously are all based on gradient reconstruction, which may result in undesired mesh-dependency problem due to the somewhat ambiguous gradient reconstruction procedures. Here, we consider schemes for P2 elements in order to eliminate the need for such gradient reconstruction. For pure advection, a P2 version of the LDA scheme is derived from a constrained least-squares minimization. This scheme is fourth-order accurate. For pure diusion, a P2 Galerkin scheme is derived from a minimization principle, which turns out to be equivalent to applying Richardson’s extrapolation technique to the standard second-order Galerkin scheme. This scheme is again fourth-order accurate. Finally, strategies for integrating P2 advection and diusion schemes to develop uniformly accurate P2 schemes are discussed.
Coordinate Roles of Insulin and Glucose on the Growth of Hepatoma Cells in Culture

The growth-promoting effect of insulin on cells in culture is well established. In addition, most cells need glucose for growth, although hepatic cells, which have an active gluconeogenic pathway, can survive in glucose-free medium. Since insulin can inhibit gluconeogenesis, we have studied the effect of insulin on the growth of a well differentiated hepatoma cell line (Fao) in glucose-containing and glucose-free medium. In the presence of glucose, Fao cells had a doubling time of 26 h, and insulin stimulated cell growth in a concentration-dependent manner. Half-maximal stimulation occurred at physiological concentrations (3 × 10−11 m), and a maximal effect was observed at 10−8 m, with a 9-fold increase in total cell number after 6-14 days. In contrast, when glucose was omitted from the culture medium, the hepatoma cells grew slower (doubling time, 38 h), and insulin inhibited cell growth by up to 80%. The doseresponse curve for inhibition was similar to that for stimulation. Inhibition of growth correlat...
Immigration and acculturation.

Immigration and acculturation are major transforming forces on children, parents, and families worldwide. Indeed, migration and adjustment have been facts of the human condition ever since peoples of the African savannah began moving to new lands, not stopping until they had settled virtually all habitable places on earth. Immigration and acculturation are also contemporary global concerns. e International Organization of Migration (http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/ index.jsp) estimates that approximately 200 million people now live outside the country of their birth or citizenship. Intercountry migration arises as a natural and predictable response to differences in resources and occupational opportunities, demographic growth, climatic change, fi nancial insecurity, and exploitation of human rights. Most modern societies are not culturally homogenous but have repeatedly experienced sociopolitical changes associated with immigration (Cooper and Denner, 1998; Sam and Berry, 2006). Today, for example, nearly 25% of children under the age of 18 years in the United States are either immigrants themselves or the children of immigrants (Hernandez, Denton, and Macartney, 2008). Approximately 10% of all people in e Netherlands belong to immigrant families (Vollebergh et al., 2005).
Local and Global Induction

In 1967 Isaac Levi introduced a distinction which has had a serious impact on the direction of research into inductive problems. The distinction itself was not new in principle; people for years had been aware that the problem of justifying a particular inductive conclusion in a practical scientific context was quite different from the general problem of justifying inductive conclusions wholesale. But Levi made the distinction sharper, and, more important, turned what had been taken to be the philosophical point of the distinction on its head. Traditionally, the point of the distinction was this: as philosophers we are not concerned with the particular problems of how a sociologist, for example, should justify his argument from an observed sample to a population; the sociologist, after all, can rely on a whole body of knowledge whose justification is not (for him) at issue. As philosophers (so the traditional view went) we are interested in the general and abstract problem of justification; to justify an inductive conclusion I by reference to principles which themselves are just as much in need of ultimate justification as I itself, is to accomplish nothing of philosophical interest.
Irreversible electroporation of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer cells

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells lack estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epithelial growth factor receptor 2 (HER 2). Most chemo drugs aim any one of these receptors to treat TNBC. Since all the three receptors are lacking, it is very difficult to treat this disease. In addition, due to the nature of these cells, they also are partially insensitive to many chemo drugs. It is of practical interest to treat them with alternative and physical therapies, possibly with no drugs, knowing the extent of damages/side effects caused by the chemo drugs and one potential candidate is irreversible electroporation-use of electrical pulses to ablate the tissue with no drugs. Since no drugs are used and only electrical pulses are involved, it is an attractive alternative for especially those cases, where current standard of cure for cancer, including surgery, chemo, radio, and hormone therapies do not work. In this research, we studied the efficacy of electrical pulses in reducing the proliferation of MDA-MB-231, human, triple negative breast cancer cells using various numbers of pulse intensities and found them to be effective.
Elimination of Chromosomal Island SpyCIM1 from Streptococcus pyogenes Strain SF370 Reverses the Mutator Phenotype and Alters Global Transcription

Streptococcus pyogenes chromosomal island M1 (SpyCIM1) integrates by site-specific recombination into the 5' end of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutL in strain SF370SmR, blocking transcription of it and the downstream operon genes. During exponential growth, SpyCIM1 excises from the chromosome and replicates as an episome, restoring mutL transcription. This process is reversed in stationary phase with SpyCIM1 re-integrating into mutL, returning the cells to a mutator phenotype. Here we show that elimination of SpyCIM1 relieves this mutator phenotype. The downstream MMR operon genes, multidrug efflux pump lmrP, Holliday junction resolution helicase ruvA, and DNA base excision repair glycosylase tag, are also restored to constitutive expression by elimination of SpyCIM1. The presence of SpyCIM1 alters global transcription patterns in SF370SmR. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) demonstrated that loss of SpyCIM1 in the SpyCIM1 deletion mutant, CEM1Δ4, impacted the expression of over 100 genes involved in virulence and metabolism both in early exponential phase, when the SpyCIM1 is episomal, as well as at the onset of stationary phase, when SpyCIM1 has reintegrated into mutL. Among these changes, the up-regulation of the genes for the antiphagocytic M protein (emm1), streptolysin O (slo), capsule operon (hasABC), and streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin (speB), are particularly notable. The expression pattern of the MMR operon confirmed our earlier observations that these genes are transcribed in early exponential phase but silenced as stationary phase is approached. Thus, the direct role of SpyCIM1 in causing the mutator phenotype is confirmed, and further, its influence upon the biology of S. pyogenes was found to impact multiple genes in addition to the MMR operon, which is a novel function for a mobile genetic element. We suggest that such chromosomal islands are a remarkable evolutionary adaptation to promote the survival of its S. pyogenes host cell in changing environments.
Discrete Iterative Partial Segmentation Technique (DIPS) for Tomographic Reconstruction

Discrete tomography refers to tomographic reconstruction of images that are known to contain only a few intensity levels. We propose a new reconstruction technique for discrete tomography that uses a relaxed partial segmentation and a refinement update in each iteration. With our approach the dimension of the tomographic reconstruction problem is carefully and slowly reduced as the image structures become more evident, allowing us to capture object details more accurately. The method is complemented with an appropriate sparsity model to incorporate the prior knowledge of the nature of the data and further improve the reconstruction. As a proof of concept, we compare our method with the current standard and state-of-the art techniques and in simulation experiments show substantial improvement in the accuracy of the reconstruction in all of the simulation cases considered as well as moderate improvement on experimental data.
Towards High-Performance Bufferless NoCs with SCEPTER

In the many-core era, the network on-chip (NoC) is playing a larger role in meeting performance, area and power goals, as router buffers contribute greatly to NoC area and power usage. Proposals have advocated bufferless NoCs, however a performance wall has been reached such that high throughput performance has not been extracted. We present SCEPTER, a high-performance bufferless mesh NoC that sets up single-cycle virtual express paths dynamically across the chip, allowing deflected packets to go through non-minimal paths with no latency penalty. For a 64 node network, we demonstrate an average $62$ percent reduction in latency and an average 1.3 $\times$ higher throughput over a baseline bufferless NoC for synthetic traffic patterns; with comparable performance to a single-cycle multihop buffered mesh network with six flit buffers, per input port, in each router.
Genome-Wide Studies in Adrenocortical Neoplasia

In the not too distant past, there existed a mystique amongst pathologists, radiologists, and clinicians regarding neoplasms of the adrenal cortex. Specifically, there was a belief by some that it was not possible to accurately classify adrenal tumors into benign and malignant categories in the absence of metastatic disease. It was this mystical quality that led Larry Weiss and his colleagues to systematically examine the histopathology of a series of adrenocortical tumors and thus derive the evaluation system that bears his name [1, 2].
Investigating Medical Diagnosis: Qualitative Results from a Virtual Patient Simulation Pilot Study:

Virtual patient simulation (VPS) has begun to gather interest as a method to train and assess clinical reasoning. However, the lack of published materials illustrating how to develop patient simulation scenarios coupled with concerns over the best way to assess clinical reasoning has slowed the adoption of VPS as an education platform. To remedy these concerns, we describe the use of a model of medical diagnosis to assist with the development of a diagnosis-based VPS and test the ability of VPS to administer measures of situation awareness as an assessment of clinician reasoning during the simulation scenario. A case example of one clinician's participation in the diagnosis-based VPS suggests the model-directed VPS provides a unique opportunity to observe clinical reasoning as the interplay between information collection and the participant's report of a presumptive diagnosis extracted from measures of situation awareness. Suggestions for future directions and implications of this research are provided.
Drugs Utilization Review of 513 Patients Undergoing Uterine-incision Delivery

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the rationality of drug use in patients undergoing uterine-incision delivery.METHODS: By a retrospective study,a total of 513 patients who had uterine-incision delivery in our hospital from June 2006 to May 2007 were analyzed statistically.RESULTS: Of the total drugs used,antimicrobial drugs and narcotics(including adjunctive drugs) ranked at the first 2 places in terms of consumption sum,accounting for 52.21% and 17.08%,respectively.Of all the antimicrobial drugs,Cefotiam Hydrochloride Sterilized Powder and Cefuroxime Sodium for Injection Sterilized Powder dominated the first two places,accounting for 30.85% and 24.47%,respectively.Some antimicrobial drugs had a high DUI value;DUI1 was found in 4 kinds;DUI=1 was found in 4 kinds,and DUI1 in 6 kinds;moreover,the kinds with DUI1 were also high in DDDs(i.e.high dosage).CONCLUSION: The patients undergoing uterine-incision delivery had a high proportion in using antimicrobial drugs yet the choice of drug kinds was reasonable.However,great attention should be paid to the high dosage of some of the antimicrobial drugs.
Genetic engineering: what are we fearing?

Genetic engineering of animals, plants and otherlife forms to produce genetically modiﬁed organisms(GMOs) was initiated nearly three decades ago withthe intent of serving humanity with improved foodsand medicines as well as producing these productswith greater efﬁciency leading to greater proﬁts. Thescience that has emerged has been exciting. Eachsigniﬁcant ﬁnding has been employed in accelerat-ing the development of organisms with new traits. Itseemed scientists were on the verge of retooling lifethroughout the planet. But, as is often the result ofeven modest
“I Know That I Should Be Here”: Lessons Learned From the First-Year Performance of Borderline University Applicants:

At many higher education institutions, admissions decisions often rely on standardized test scores and high school grades; yet, they are less reliable predictors for applicants falling slightly below cutoff points, what we call borderline applicants. Since borderline applicants are often from underrepresented backgrounds and diverted to 2-year institutions, this may potentially jeopardize efforts to increase campus diversity. Using a mixed-methods approach, two studies investigated an “admissions experiment” designed to increase campus diversity by admitting 34 borderline applicants into a summer bridge program. Study 1 compared program participants’ performance to two comparison samples of regularly admitted students (N = 912). Compared with a matched sample, borderline students performed better after the first semester and comparably after the first year. Study 2 identified program components that helped or undermined participants’ college adjustment and performance. Results suggested several program im...
Gender Essentialism in Children and Parents: Implications for the Development of Gender Stereotyping and Gender-Typed Preferences

Psychological essentialism is a set of lay beliefs about categories, according to which certain categories are seen as natural and arising from an inborn, causal force or “essence.” Social categories, including gender, are often essentialized by both adults and children. The current study examines how gender essentialism relates to other gender-relevant beliefs and preferences, in both a child sample (5- to 7-year-olds) and an adult sample (the children’s parents). Children’s and parents’ essentialism predicted children’s gender-typed preferences, but not children’s prescriptive stereotyping. In contrast, parents’ essentialism predicted their own prescriptive stereotyping, but not their gender-typed preferences. Implications of these findings are discussed in the contexts of (a) past findings linking essentialism with stereotyping and (b) the practical implications of developmental shifts in the correlates of essentialism, including ways in which stereotyping and rigid beliefs about gender may be reduced.
Measures and Outcome Instruments for Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury

The purpose of this review is to describe recent advancements in development and validation of measurement tools and outcome instruments for pediatric spinal cord injury, and to identify priorities for research. There has been advancement in spinal imaging techniques, and in development and validation of performance measures to evaluate neurologic and functional recovery. Computerized adaptive testing of function, activity, and participation has emerged as robust efficient patient-reported outcome instruments. Pediatric SCI common data elements and International SCI Basic Data Sets have been develop and validated, and are available at no cost. Despite significant progress, there is a marked void in validated outcomes instruments for use with preschool children with SCI. Likewise, development and validation of measures for infants and young children are lacking. Outcome instruments that are capable of administration across the pediatric-adolescence 21-year span are needed. Validation of robust measures that are already in the field needs to be conducted in children with SCI. Measures of executive function, autonomic function, caregiver function, instrumental activities of daily living, and participation are also needed.
The role of UVR and vitamin D on T cells and inflammatory bowel disease

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In experimental IBD the targets of vitamin D that result in protection from IBD include gut epithelial cells, innate immune cells, T cells, and the microbiota. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) induces production of vitamin D in the skin and suppresses T cell responses in the host. There is limited data demonstrating an effect of UVR on experimental IBD but the mechanisms of UVR suppression in IBD have not been defined. There are several shared effects of vitamin D and UVR on T cells including inhibition of proliferation and suppression of IFN-γ and IL-17 producing T cells. Conversely UVR decreases and vitamin D increases IL-4 production from T cells. Together the data suggest that UVR suppression of T cells and potentially IBD are both vitamin D dependent and independent.
The effect of four different feeding regimens from rearing period to sexual maturity on breast muscle protein turnover in broiler breeder parent stock

Abstract A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of four different feeding regimens on breast muscle protein turnover in broiler breeder Cobb-500 parent stock ( PS) pullets and breeder hens. The four feeding regimens based on BW curves utilized for the study were as follows: Everyday feeding (STD-ED) (Cobb Standard BW curve), skip-a-day feeding ( STD-SKIP) (Cobb Standard BW curve), lighter BW (LBW-SKIP) (BW curve 20% under), and heavier BW ( HBW-SKIP) (BW curve 20% over). Each feeding regimen was provided to pullets from 4 wk to 21 wk of age. Protein turnover was determined in PS pullets/breeders at 6, 10, 12, 16, 21, 25, 31, 37, 46, and 66 wk of age. A completely randomized design was used with a 4 × 10 factorial arrangement (four feeding regimens, 10 ages), each pullet represented a replicate. Five pullets/breeders at each age were given an intravenous flooding-dose of 15 N-Phe (15 N phenylalanine 150 mM, 40 APE (atom percent excess)) at a dose of 10 mL/kg BW for the determination of fractional synthesis rate ( FSR). After 10 min, birds were euthanized and the breast muscle (pectoralis major) excised for protein turnover and gene expression analysis. Excreta was collected from each pullet or breeder for 3-methylhistidine (3-MH) analysis. No feeding regimen affected protein turnover. There was an age effect for breast muscle FSR. The FSR in breast muscle of pullets significantly increased from 6 wk to 12 wk and then decreased significantly for 31 wk-old breeders. FSR in breeder breast muscle increased significantly from 31 wk to 66 wk. There was an age effect for breast muscle fractional breakdown rate ( FBR). FBR in breast muscle significantly increased from 21 wk to 25 wk and 31 wk (peak egg production), then significantly decreased at 66 wk. The expression of the genes related to protein degradation (Atrogin-1, MURF-1) in breast muscle was significantly higher at peak egg production. Protein turnover in skeletal muscle tissue is believed to be a source of nutrients for egg production.
Learning adaptive multiscale approximations to data and functions near low-dimensional sets

In the setting where a data set in ℝD consists of samples from a probability measure ρ concentrated on or near an unknown d-dimensional set M, with D large but d ≪ D, we consider two sets of problems: geometric approximation of M and regression of a function ƒ on M. In the first case we construct multiscale low-dimensional empirical approximations ofM, which are adaptive whenMhas geometric regularity that may vary at different locations and scales, and give performance guarantees. In the second case we exploit these empirical geometric approximations to construct multiscale approximations to ƒ on M, which adapt to the unknown regularity of ƒ even when this varies at different scales and locations. We prove guarantees showing that we attain the same learning rates as if ƒ was defined on a Euclidean domain of dimension d, instead of an unknown manifold M. All algorithms have complexity O(n log n), with constants scaling linearly in D and exponentially in d.
Electronic device use by individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury.

Objective: To describe use of several electronic devices among individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).Study Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Community.Methods: Potential participants consisted of all individuals with traumatic SCI, ages 7 and older, who had received care through a large academic medical center in the Midwest between January 1, 2003, and January 2, 2013. All eligible individuals received the survey as part of a four-stage mailing that asked questions about electronic device use in addition to questions about demographic and injury-related characteristics.Results: Mailings were sent to 820 individuals; of those, 451 completed and returned the survey. Descriptive and nonparametric statistics were performed. Individuals with high-level tetraplegia were less likely to use tablet and handheld electronic devices than individuals at all other SCI levels. Individuals aged 65 years and older were less likely to own or use tablet computers and handheld devices than all other age ...
Endoscopic suture fixation is associated with reduced migration of esophageal fully covered self-expandable metal stents (FCSEMS).

Background Esophageal fully covered self-expandable metal stents (FCSEMS) are indicated for the management of benign and malignant conditions of the esophagus including perforations, leaks, and strictures. FCSEMS are resistant to tissue ingrowth and are removable; however, stent migration occurs in 30–55% of cases. Endoscopic suture fixation of FCSEMS has been utilized to decrease the risk of stent migration though data supporting this practice remain limited. The primary aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes and migration rate of patients who underwent placement of esophageal FCSEMS with and without endoscopic suture fixation.
Chronic Health Conditions and Children in Foster Care: Determining Demographic and Placement-Related Correlates

ABSTRACTYouth in foster care are more likely to experience health problems such as asthma compared to youth who are not in foster care. Data from a longitudinal study of youth in out-of-home care in one Midwestern metropolitan area were used to examine the association between placement-related factors and receiving treatment for asthma. Controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, youth who experienced more than one asthma spell, who were African American, or who had an internalizing mental health diagnosis were at increased risk of asthma. The finding that placement-related factors are associated with asthma in foster care youth raises implications for health service delivery.
Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Imaging of the Gastrointestinal Tract

The evaluation of lesions in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract using ultrasound can suffer from poor contrast between healthy and diseased tissue. Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging provides information about the mechanical properties of tissue using brief, high-intensity, focused ultrasound to generate radiation force and ultrasonic correlation-based methods to track the resulting tissue displacement. Using conventional linear arrays, ARFI imaging has shown improved contrast over B-mode images when applied to solid masses in the breast and liver. The purpose of this work is to (1) investigate the potential for ARFI imaging to provide improvements over conventional B-mode imaging of GI lesions and (2) demonstrate that ARFI imaging can be performed with an endocavity probe. ARFI images of an adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal (GE) junction, status-post chemotherapy and radiation treatment, demonstrate better contrast between healthy and fibrotic/malignant tissue than standard B-mode images. ARFI images of healthy gastric, esophageal, and colonic tissue specimens differentiate normal anatomic tissue layers (i.e., mucosal, muscularis and adventitial layers), as confirmed by histologic evaluation. ARFI imaging of ex vivo colon and small bowel tumors portray interesting contrast and structure that are not as well defined in B-mode images. An endocavity probe created ARFI images to a depth of over 2 cm in tissue-mimicking phantoms, with maximum displacements of 4 microm. These findings support the clinical feasibility of endocavity ARFI imaging to guide diagnosis and staging of disease processes in the GI tract.