cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heparin-Bonded Cardiopulmonary Bypass Circuits Reduce the Rate of Red Blood Cell Transfusion During Elective Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Objective: This study compared the transfusion rates of patients treated with heparin-bonded circuits with the transfusion rates of patients treated with standard bypass circuits with and without ϵ-aminocaproic acid (EACA). Design: Prospective double-blind (drugs), open trial (cardiopulmonary bypass circuits). Setting: University medical center. Participants: Seventy-one patients undergoing elective am admission coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Measurements and Main Results: Patients were randomized to receive either heparin-coated cardiopulmonary bypass circuits (HBCPB), nonheparin-coated cardiopulmonary bypass circuits and EACA (EACPB), or nonheparin-coated bypass circuits and placebo (control). Patients were transfused if their hematocrit was p = 0.034). Conclusions: The heparin-bonded cardiopulmonary bypass–treated patients in this study received fewer pRBCs than did the control group. A nonsignificant reduction in the pRBC transfusion rate was found between those with heparin-bonded bypass circuits and those with standard circuits who received ϵ-aminocaproic acid.
Summation in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Effects of amounts, number of wells, and finer ratios

Research conducted by Rumbaugh, Savage-Rumbaugh, and Hegel (1987) demonstrated that chimpanzees, presented with two pairs of quantities of chocolate chips, were capable of combining noncontiguous areas in order to choose the pair that contained the greater quantity. Further research (Rumbaugh, Savage-Rumbaugh, and Pate, 1988) showed that this ability is not based on the avoidance of the pair containing the smallest single amount or selection of the pair containing the largest single amount. In the experiments in the present sutdy, the influence of wells containing zero or one chocolate on summation and the consequences of eliminating the requirement to sum noncontiguous areas by interpersing trials in which only two (rather than four) food wells were investigated. It was found that summation of quantities occurred regardless whether food wells containing zero or one were present. Also, the chimpanzees performed significantly better on two-well trials than on four-well trials, thereby suggesting that they were not simply discounting the space between the wells on four-well trials but, instead, were employing a combinatorial process which we call summation.
Functional overload attenuates plantaris atrophy in tumor-bearing rats

Late stage cancer malignancies may result in severe skeletal muscle wasting, fatigue and reduced quality of life. Resistance training may attenuate these derangements in cancer patients, but how this hypertrophic response relates to normal muscle adaptations in healthy subjects is unknown. Here, we determined the effect of resistance training on muscle mass and myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform composition in plantaris muscles from tumor-bearing (TB) rats. Age- and gender-matched Buffalo rats were used for all studies (n = 6/group). Suspensions of Morris Hepatoma MH7777 cells or normal saline were injected subcutaneously into the dorsum. Six weeks after cell implantation, muscles from TB rats were harvested, weighed and processed for ATP-independent proteasome activity assays. Once tumor-induced atrophy had been established, subgroups of TB rats underwent unilateral, functional overload (FO). Healthy, sham-operated rats served as controls. After six weeks, the extent of plantaris hypertrophy was calculated and MHC isoform compositions were determined by gel electrophoresis. Six weeks of tumor growth reduced body mass and the relative masses of gastrocnemius, plantaris, tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum longus, and diaphragm muscles (p ≤ 0.05). Percent reductions in body mass had a strong, negative correlation to final tumor size (r = -0.78). ATP-independent proteasome activity was increased in plantaris muscles from TB rats (p ≤ 0.05). In healthy rats, functional overload (FO) increased plantaris mass ~44% compared to the contralateral control muscle, and increased the relative percentage of MHC type I and decreased the relative percentage of MHC type IIb compared to the sham-operated controls (p ≤ 0.05). Importantly, plantaris mass was increased ~24% in TB-FO rats and adaptations to MHC isoform composition were consistent with normal, resistance-trained muscles. Despite significant skeletal muscle derangements due to cancer, muscle retains the capacity to respond normally to hypertrophic stimuli. Specifically, when challenged with functional overload, plantaris muscles from TB rats displayed greater relative mass, increased percentages of MHC type I and decreased percentages of MHC type IIb. Therefore, resistance training paradigms should provide relative morphological and functional benefits to cancer patients suffering from muscle wasting.
Impediments to wound healing

Chronic wounds will often heal in a short period of time if factors that inhibit wound healing are identified and managed. Recombinant growth factor therapy may provide an added stimulus to healing in certain types of chronic wounds. However, there remains no substitute for a physiologic environment conducive to tissue repair and regeneration, without which the efficacy of growth factor therapy is questionable. Some of the most commonly encountered and clinically significant impediments to wound healing include wound hypoxia, infection, presence of debris and necrotic tissue, use of anti-inflammatory medications, a diet deficient in vitamins or minerals, or general nutritional deficiencies, tumors, environmental factors, and metabolic disorders, such as diabetes mellitus. Treatment of chronic wounds should be directed against the main etiologic factors responsible for the wound. Moreover, factors that may impede healing must be identified and, if possible, corrected, for healing to occur.
Temperature differences during sleep between fullterm and preterm neonates at matched post-conceptional ages.

Objective: Altered physiologic behaviors during sleep have been described for healthy preterm neonates at post-conceptional fullterm ages. These differences may reflect brain dysmaturity as a result of conditions of prematurity. The present study examines if differences in state-specific temperature changes exist in a healthy preterm cohort as another expression of brain dysmaturity. Methods: Rectal and skin temperatures during sleep state transitions are reported in 59 asymptomatic post-conceptional age term infants, comparing 25 full term and 34 preterm infants. Three-hour 24-channel electroencephalogram (EEG)-sleep studies were recorded for each child. One of 4 sleep states were assigned for each of 7339 min, based on both cerebral and non-cerebral measures. For each study, average rectal and skin temperatures for each sleep state were calculated. Repeated measures MANOVA were performed using 4 explanatory variables, average skin and rectal temperatures and variance of rectal and skin temperatures, comparing preterm/fullterm status and 4 sleep states. Results: Rectal temperature differences between neonatal cohorts during specific sleep states were noted: F=8.58, P<0.0001. Significant differences were noted for both average and variance of rectal temperatures during all 4 sleep states with higher temperatures in the preterm group. For all neonates, both skin and rectal temperature differences were also noted among sleep states (F=4.22, P<0.0004). Differences were specifically noted between two specific EEG segments, mixed frequency active sleep and trace alternant quiet sleep (P<0.0004). Conclusions: In summary, significant differences in temperatures were noted across sleep state transitions for two neonatal cohorts, with higher average rectal temperatures in the preterm cohort. These findings highlight an altered measure of brain function during sleep in preterm infants affecting temperature regulation. This altered physiologic behavior reflects adaptation of the infant's brain function to conditions of prematurity which may contribute to vulnerabilities at older ages.
Shyness, Boredom, and Grade Point Average among College Students

The relations among shyness, boredom, and grade point average were studied with 223 college students during an Interim at Texas Lutheran College. A positive relationship between shyness and boredom was noted for women and an inverse one between boredom and grade point average for men. However, no correlation was found between shyness and grade point average for women or men. As expected, the multiple correlations (.17, .16) were not significant for either group. Further research seems warranted, and several variables are specified for consideration.
A meta-analysis of the published literature on the effectiveness of antimicrobial soaps.

Abstract The goal of this research was to conduct a systematic quantitative analysis of the existing data in the literature in order to determine if there is a difference between antimicrobial and nonantimicrobial soaps and to identify the methodological factors that might affect this difference. Data on hand washing efficacy and experimental conditions (sample size, wash duration, soap quantity, challenge organism, inoculum size, and neutralization method) from published studies were compiled and transferred to a relational database. A total of 25 publications, containing 374 observations, met the study selection criteria. The majority of the studies included fewer than 15 observations with each treatment and included a direct comparison between nonantimicrobial soap and antimicrobial soap. Although differences in efficacy between antimicrobial and nonantimicrobial soap were small (∼0.5-log CFU reduction difference), antimicrobial soap produced consistently statistically significantly greater reductions. This difference was true for any of the antimicrobial compounds investigated where n was >20 (chlorhexidine gluconate, iodophor, triclosan, or povidone). Average log reductions were statistically significantly greater (∼2 log CFU) when either gram-positive or gram-negative transient organisms were deliberately added to hands compared with experiments done with resident hand flora (∼0.5 log CFU). Our findings support the importance of using a high initial inoculum on the hands, well above the detection limit. The inherent variability in hand washing seen in the published literature underscores the importance of using a sufficiently large sample size to detect differences when they occur.
Crystals That Came in from the Cold

Physics of Cryocrystals. VADIM G. MANZHELII and YURI A. FREIMAN, Eds. English-language version edited by Michael L. Klein and Alexei A. Maradudin. AIP Press, Woodbury, NY, 1996. xx, 691 pp., illus. $135 or £99. ISBN 1-56396-537-2.
Corrigendum to “Do Medicare Advantage plans select enrollees in higher margin clinical categories?” [J. Health Econ. 32 (December (6)) (2013) 1278–1288]

Harvard Kennedy School, United States Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, United States Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, United States Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, United States Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, United States Mongan Institute for Health Policy and Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
Relationship of arginine and lactose utilization by Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis ML3

The arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway exists in many microorganisms and is one of the main characteristics that distinguish between Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis and ssp. cremoris. The ADI pathway converts arginine to produce ammonia, carbon dioxide, and ATP. Induction of this pathway in relation to energy production is not well characterized. The presence of arginine changed the metabolism of strain ML3 in the media containing different levels of lactose. The interaction between lactose and arginine utilization changed the pH of the growth medium in a cyclic pattern. Transcriptional analysis showed that the first enzyme in the ADI pathway (arginine deiminase, arcA) was induced by pH rather than arginine addition. Analysis of the ratio arginine to lactose led to a statistical model that linked lactose, arginine, external pH, and the ADI pathway.
Fuel and Ethylene Measurements during n-dodecane, methylcyclohexane, and iso-cetane pyrolysis in shock tubes

Fuel and ethylene time histories, overall fuel decomposition rates, and ethylene yields were measured during the high-temperature (990–1520 K) pyrolysis of n-dodecane, methylcyclohexane, and 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-heptamethylnonane in a heated high-pressure shock tube. Fuel measurements were made using IR HeNe laser absorption at 3.39 lm and ethylene measurements were made using CO2 gas laser absorption near 10.5 lm. Initial fuel mole fractions ranged from 0.1% to 0.4% fuel in argon and pressures from 17 to 23 atm. Data provided here will enable the formulation of a fuel surrogate with pyrolytic kinetic properties (product species and overall fuel decomposition rates) similar to RP-fuels.
An analysis of caprolactam polymerization

A versatile model for e-caprolactam polymerization is presented. A deterministic, mathematical basis for obtaining the most probable distribution of molecular weights in batch polymerization is developed. Continuous polycaproamide production has been modeled and shown to give othe than most probable distribution in many cases. The effect of adding monofunctional agents has been investigated. Results of some preliminary studies toward determining the optimal reactor configuration are presented.
Atmospheric Circulation Trends, 1950–2000: The Relative Roles of Sea Surface Temperature Forcing and Direct Atmospheric Radiative Forcing

Abstract The relative roles of direct atmospheric radiative forcing (due to observed changes in well-mixed greenhouse gases, tropospheric and stratospheric ozone, sulfate and volcanic aerosols, and solar output) and observed sea surface temperature (SST) forcing of global December–February atmospheric circulation trends during the second half of the twentieth century are investigated by means of experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model, Community Atmospheric Model, version 3 (CAM3). The model experiments are conducted by specifying the observed time-varying SSTs and atmospheric radiative quantities individually and in combination. This approach allows the authors to isolate the direct impact of each type of forcing agent as well as to evaluate their combined effect and the degree to which their impacts are additive. CAM3 realistically simulates the global patterns of sea level pressure and 500-hPa geopotential height trends when both forcings are specified. SST forcing and direct atmosphe...
Stand-Alone Centers Occupied by Big-Box Retailers

Investments in stand-alone centers occupied by big-box retailers do poorly as a hedge against changes in the variables that generally matter to institutional investors. The reason is structural. Big-box retailer leases often include a go-dark option allowing the retail tenant to vacate its space before expiration of the lease. This tends to occur under high inflation (and hence the big-box retailer cash flow growth rate is high) and under high uncertainty, exactly the conditions under which institutional investors most need high returns
Mutation detection, interpretation, and applications in the clinical laboratory setting

Mutation detection plays an increasingly significant role in clinical diagnostic testing, posing formidable challenges for laboratories. The expanding indications for clinical molecular testing and the nuances of interpreting test results are discussed. Methods for screening mutation detection platforms and monitoring assay reliability are presented, and results of platform comparisons are described. The potential for irrevocable medical interventions following a positive mutation analysis is highlighted to stress the imperative for accuracy in mutation detection and vigilance in the clinical arena.
Seafloor Pressure Measurements of Nonlinear Internal Waves

Highly resolved pressure measurements on the seafloor over New Jersey’s continental shelf reveal the pressure signature of nonlinear internal waves of depression as negative pressure perturbations. The sign of the perturbation is determined by the dominance of the internal hydrostatic pressure ( p 0 ) due to isopycnal displacement over the contributions of external hydrostatic pressure (0gH; H is surface displacement) and nonhydrostatic pressure ( p 0 ), each of opposite sign to p 0 . This measurement represents experimental confirmation of the wave-induced pressure signal inferred in a previous study by Moum and Smyth.
A Panel-Data Based Method for Merging Joint Space and Market Response Function Estimation

Multidimensional Scaling MDS techniques have proven to be useful in understanding market structures at a single point in time. In addition to examining snapshots of markets, it has been suggested that the construction of longitudinal joint spaces in conjunction with econometric modeling techniques would provide useful insights into the dynamic structure of a market. However, several pragmatic factors related to data collection have limited the amount of research in this area. In this paper, a method is proposed that enables researchers to use commonly available consumer diary panel data to construct a time series of joint space maps and then to integrate these maps into market response models. Two illustrations using longitudinal maps demonstrate successful applications of this methodology.
Using plants to elucidate the mechanisms of cytonuclear co‐evolution

The presence of both cytoplasmic and nuclear genomes within eukaryotic cells raises fascinating questions about co-evolution between genomic compartments that experience fundamentally different mutation rates and modes of inheritance. The highly mutagenic environments found in the mitochondria of some eukaryotes have generated interest in the role that mitochondrial mutation accumulation plays in phenomena such as intracellular gene transfer, compensatory evolution in the nucleus and the evolution of reproductive isolation. Although plant systems have played an important historical role in the study of cytonuclear co-evolution, they remain underutilized in many respects. In particular, the enormous natural variation in DNA substitution rates, gene content and genome architecture in plant mitochondria - much of which has even been found within a single genus – provides opportunities to resolve longstanding evolutionary questions about the consequences of mitochondrial mutation accumulation. This review summarizes some of the classic questions about cytonuclear co-evolution that could be addressed by taking advantage of the variation in plants and highlights a recent analysis of the effect of mitochondrial mutation accumulation on rates of molecular evolution in the nucleus.
Relationships Between Permeability, Porosity, Diffusion And Microstructure Of Cement Pastes, Mortar, And Concrete At Different Temperatures

Permeabilities to water and diffusion of ionic species in cementitious grouts, pastes and mortars are important keys to concrete durability. Investigations have been made of numerous materials containing portland and blended cements, and those with fine-grained filler, at room temperature and after prolonged curing at several elevated temperatures up to 90°C. These constitute part of studies of fundamental material relationships performed in order to address the question of long-term durability. In general, the permeabilities of the materials have been found to be low [many <10−8 Darcy (10−13 m·s−1)] after curing for 28 days or longer at temperatures up to 60°C. The results obtained at 90°C are somewhat more complex. In some sets of studies of blended cement pastes with w/c varying from 0.30 to 0.60 and cured at temperatures up to 90°C the more open-pore structure (at the elevated temperature and higher w/c) as evident from SEM microstructural studies as well as mercury porosimetry are generally correlated also with a higher permeability to liquid. The degree of bonding and permeability evident in paste or mortar/rock interfacial studies present somewhat more conflicting results. The bond strength (tensile mode) has been shown to be improved in some materials with increased temperature. The results of permeability studies of paste/rock couples show examples with similar low permeabilities, and some with increased permeability with temperature. Ionic diffusion studies also bring important bearing to understanding the effect of pore structure. The best interrelationships between chloride diffusion and pore structure appear to relate diffusion rate to median pore size. Similar results were found with “chloride permeability” test.
Using Text Messages in U.S. Mobile Phone Surveys

Attempts to interview the general population using cell phones have revealed underlying weaknesses. Noncoverage is severe because all persons who rely solely on fixedline telephones are excluded. Nonresponse stemming from the difficulty of contacting potential respondents and convincing them to participate also increases. Only the spread of mobile technology will remedy noncoverage. This article presents the results of an experiment that tests the effectiveness of sending text messages to improve non-response. The results give little support to our hypothesis that sending an advance text message would make contacting respondents easier. Other outcome rates do show positive effects. We also discovered that the act of sending the text message provided valuable data about the sample unit. This outside information, similar to the information traditional telephone surveys obtain from directories, indicates whether a mobile number is in service and allows researchers to adapt their calling rules to achieve grea...
Effect of Brassicaceae seed meals with different glucosinolate profiles on Rhizoctonia root rot in wheat

The soil-borne pathogen Rhizoctonia solani AG 8 causes major yield losses in wheat (Triticum aestivum .L ) production worldwide. Plant tissues of Brassicaceae species contain glucosinolates that are hydrolyzed in the presence of the enzyme myrosinase into products with pesticidal properties. Growth chamber studies were conducted to determine the effect of the Brassicaceae seed meals (SMs) from Brassica juncea, Brassica napus and Sinapis alba on the suppression of the R. solani AG 8 infection of winter wheat. Pasteurized sandy soils were amended with intact and denatured SMs of rape seed and mustard at a rate of 0.5% by soil weight. Regardless of the glucosinolate type and content, all intact and denatured Brassicaceae significantly reduced the infection of winter wheat seedlings by R. solani AG 8 compared to the un-amended control. However, soils amended with S. alba SMs had the lowest severity of Rhizoctonia root rot relative to other amended soils. Phytotoxicity arising from the use of Brassicaceae SMs was observed particularly in soils amended with high glucosinolate-containing SMs. These studies demonstrate that Brassicaceae SMs can be used to manage disease caused by R. solani AG-8. However, future studies will need to focus on strategies for diminishing the crop growth-reducing effects associated with Brassicaceae SM amendment to fully maximize these fungicidal benefits.
Behavioral Predictors of Outpatient Mental Health Service Utilization Within 6 Months After Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescents

Objectives To characterize utilization of mental health services and determine the ability of a behavior problem and clinical functioning assessment to predict utilization of such services within the first 6 months after moderate and severe traumatic brain injury in a large cohort of adolescents. Design Multicenter cross-sectional study. Setting Outpatient setting of 4 tertiary pediatric hospitals, 2 tertiary general medical centers, and 1 specialized children's hospital. Participants Adolescents age 12-17 years (n = 132), 1-6 months after moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury. Methods Logistic regression was used to determine the association of mental health service utilization with clinical functioning as assessed by the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale and behavior problems assessed by the Child Behavioral Checklist. Main Outcome Measurement Mental health service utilization measured by the Service Assessment for Children and Adolescents. Results Behavioral or functional impairment occurred in 37%-56%. Of the total study population, 24.2% reported receiving outpatient mental health services, 8.3% reported receiving school services, and 28.8% reported receiving any type of mental health service. Use of any (school or outpatient) mental health service was associated with borderline to impaired total Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (odds ratio 3.50 [95% confidence interval, 1.46-8.40]; P P Conclusions A large proportion of participants had unmet mental health needs. Both the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale and the Child Behavioral Checklist identified individuals who would likely benefit from mental health services in outpatient or school settings. Future research should focus on methods to ensure early identification by health care providers of adolescents with traumatic brain injury in need of mental health services.
Honorifics: A Sociocultural Verb Agreement Cue in Japanese Sentence Processing.

Case marking is the major cue to sentence interpretation in Japanese, whereas animacy and word order are much weaker. However, when subjects and their cases markers are omitted, Japanese honorific and humble verbs can provide information that compensates for the missing case role markers. This study examined the usage of honorific and humble verbs as cues to case role assignment by Japanese native speakers and second-language learners of Japanese. The results for native speakers replicated earlier findings regarding the predominant strength of case marking. However, when case marking was missing, native speakers relied more on honorific marking than word order. In these sentences, the processing that relied on the honorific cue was delayed by about 100 ms in comparison to processing that relied on the case-marking cue. Learners made extensive use of the honorific agreement cue, but their use of the cue was much less accurate than that of native speakers. In particular, they failed to systematically invoke the agreement cue when case marking was missing. Overall, the findings support the predictions of the model and extend its coverage to a new type of culturally determined cue.
Three, two, one⋯ TROPHO-BLAST OFF!

Trophoblast stem cells (TSCs) are derived from the early mouse embryo and can substantially contribute to placental development. Two studies by Kubaczka et al. (2015) and Benchetrit et al. (2015) in this issue of Cell Stem Cell now report reprogramming mouse fibroblasts into TSCs, surmounting the first lineage barrier established in development and providing new tools for researching placental specification and diseases.
Three-Dimensional Wideband Beamforming for Imaging Through a Single Wall

Through-the-wall imaging and urban sensing is an emerging area of research and development. The incorporation of the effects of signal propagation through wall material in producing an indoor image is important for reliable through-the-wall mission operations. We have previously analyzed wall effects, such as refraction and change in propagation speed, and designed a wideband beamformer for 2D imaging using line arrays. In this letter, we extend the analysis to 3D imaging via delay-and-sum beamforming in the presence of a single uniform wall. The third dimension provides valuable information on target heights that can be used for enhancing target discrimination/identification. Supporting simulation results are provided.
Uncharted territory: measuring costs of diagnostic errors outside the medical record

Context In a past study using unannounced standardised patients (USPs), substantial rates of diagnostic and treatment errors were documented among internists. Because the authors know the correct disposition of these encounters and obtained the physicians' notes, they can identify necessary treatment that was not provided and unnecessary treatment. They can also discern which errors can be identified exclusively from a review of the medical records. Objective To estimate the avoidable direct costs incurred by physicians making errors in our previous study. Design In the study, USPs visited 111 internal medicine attending physicians. They presented variants of four previously validated cases that jointly manipulate the presence or absence of contextual and biomedical factors that could lead to errors in management if overlooked. For example, in a patient with worsening asthma symptoms, a complicating biomedical factor was the presence of reflux disease and a complicating contextual factor was inability to afford the currently prescribed inhaler. Costs of missed or unnecessary services were computed using Medicare cost-based reimbursement data. Setting Fourteen practice locations, including two academic clinics, two community-based primary care networks with multiple sites, a core safety net provider, and three Veteran Administration government facilities. Main outcome measures Contribution of errors to costs of care. Results Overall, errors in care resulted in predicted costs of approximately $174 000 across 399 visits, of which only $8745 was discernible from a review of the medical records alone (without knowledge of the correct diagnoses). The median cost of error per visit with an incorrect care plan differed by case and by presentation variant within case. Conclusions Chart reviews alone underestimate costs of care because they typically reflect appropriate treatment decisions conditional on (potentially erroneous) diagnoses. Important information about patient context is often entirely missing from medical records. Experimental methods, including the use of USPs, reveal the substantial costs of these errors.
DEC vs. DEC-compatible hardware

In recent years, users of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) computers have been offered compatible products manufactured by other companies. This paper reviews the results of a survey concerning the purchase and use of non-DEC products; comments concerning advantages or disadvantages of buying DEC vs. non-DEC products are noted.
Early Decision in a Censored Wilcoxon Two-Sample Test for Accumulating Survival Data

Abstract For two-sample testing problems, in which observations are collected in order of size, Ailing [1] showed that it is possible to determine the outcome of an uncensored Wilcoxon test well before data collection is complete. This article studies a similar problem for a censoring scheme terminating the experiment when a specified percentage of events has occurred in either group. The asymptotic distributions (null and nonnull) of the test statistic (of Wilcoxon type) and of the proportion of events after which early stopping occurs are reported, and some Monte Carlo work is compared with Alling's results. Other specifications of censoring and summary statistic and some applications are discussed.
Derivation and analysis of a filtered backprojection algorithm for cone beam projection data

The authors address the problem of three-dimensional image reconstruction from cone beam projections. Modifying a result due to A.A. Kirillov (Soviet Math. Dokl., vol. 2, p.268-9, 1961), the authors derive an inversion formula for the case where the cone vertices form an unbounded curve. For the special case in which the cone vertices form a circle, an approximate reconstruction formula is developed and shown to be essentially equivalent to the practical cone-beam algorithm of L.A. Feldkamp et al. (1984). For this approximate inverse, the authors derive the resulting spatially varying point spread function, examine the effect of bandlimiting due to sampling, and compare the resulting image quality as a function of the radius of the circle formed by the cone vertices. >
Citizen Science Land Cover Classification Based on Ground and Aerial Imagery

If citizen science is to be used in the context of environmental research, there needs to be a rigorous evaluation of humans' cognitive ability to interpret and classify environmental features. This research, with a focus on land cover, explores the extent to which citizen science can be used to sense and measure the environment and contribute to the creation and validation of environmental data. We examine methodological differences and humans' ability to classify land cover given different information sources: a ground-based photo of a landscape versus a ground and aerial based photo of the same location. Participants are solicited from the online crowdsourcing platform Amazon Mechanical Turk. Results suggest that across methods and in both ground-based, and ground and aerial based experiments, there are similar patterns of agreement and disagreement among participants across land cover classes. Understanding these patterns is critical to form a solid basis for using humans as sensors in earth observation.
Chained in Silence: black women and convict labor in the New South

Talitha LeFlouria’s study of women caught up in the horrific penal system of Georgia in the years between the end of the US Civil War and the coming of the Great Depression of the 1930s builds on a...
Lessons Learned Using a Full-Scale Glasstop Simulator for Control Room Modernization in Nuclear Power Plants

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has sponsored a full-scale, full-scope glasstop simulator to support control room modernization in the U.S. nuclear industry. The simulator consists of 15 glasstop panels, each with three touchscreen displays that show functional mimics of analog instrumentation and controls. When linked, these panels are capable of displaying the entirety of the hard panels found in current nuclear power plant control rooms. In this paper, we discuss the use of this glasstop simulator for function allocation and analysis and task analysis workshops in support of a nuclear utility currently undertaking control room modernization. This paper highlights the process undertaken as well as lessons learned on this first-of-a-kind use of a virtual control room with reactor operator crews.
Impact of treatment on the outcome of acute myeloid leukemia with inversion 16 : a single institution's experience

To identify treatment factors that may affect the survival of children with inv(16)(p13.1q22), we compared the outcomes of 19 patients with this genetic feature treated at our institution during two treatment eras. Nine patients were treated during era 1 (1980 to 1987), and 10 were treated during era 2 (1988 to 1996). All entered complete remission (CR) with induction therapy. Eight of the nine children treated in era 1 died, seven of relapsed leukemia. In contrast, three of 10 patients treated during era 2 have died, all of non-disease-related causes. Event-free survival (EFS) estimates were significantly higher for patients treated during era 2 than for those treated during era 1 (P = 0.03); the 6-year estimates were 70 ± 15% (s.e.) and 11 ± 7%, respectively. Era 2 treatment protocols differed from those of era 1 in their use of higher doses of cytarabine and etoposide during induction and consolidation chemotherapy and in their use of 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CDA). These results suggest that dose intensification of cytarabine benefits children with AML and inv(16), as is the case in adults. They also suggest that dose intensification of etoposide and addition of 2-CDA may also offer an advantage. This study underscores the dependence of the prognostic impact of cytogenetic features on the efficacy of treatment.
QUANTIFICATION AND SYSTEMATIC DIFFERENTIATION OF IMPACT OF PARAVALVULAR LEAKAGE FOLLOWING TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE REPLACEMENT

Mixed valvular disease following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a complex situation made even more acute and challenging in the face of other vascular and ventricular pathologies. Several questions regarding the optimum treatment strategies following TAVR remain unanswered. As an
Microtine Abundance and Soil Sodium Levels

A collection of 65 published records of population densities of microtine rodents, including individual studies of 130 populations, reveals a marked difference in peak densities reached according to geographical area. An apparent correlation exists between the relative abundance of sodium in the soil and the peak densities which microtines reach. Densities of over 1,000 per acre are frequently reported from high sodium areas, while they rarely exceed 100 in low sodium areas. Population fluctuations occur regardless of sodium level, but the densities reached at population peaks are characteristically many times higher in regions of high soil sodium than in regions of low soil sodium.
Structure and opto-electrochemical properties of ZnO nanowires grown on n-Si substrate.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures have attracted great attention as a promising functional material with unique properties suitable for applications in UV lasers, light emitting diodes, field emissio...
Artificial Urinary Sphincter Reimplantation Following Cuff Erosion: Use Of The Vaginal Approach

AbstractWe describe the successful reimplantation of an artificial urinary sphincter via the vaginal route 6 months after cuff erosion.
The "black hole" as the basic psychotic experience: some newer psychoanalytic and neuroscience perspectives on psychosis

The psychoanalytic treatment of psychotic disorders has had a long and complicated history because of the historic preference of psychoanalysis for neurotics. Nevertheless, it has survived the prejudice of psychoanalysts and empirical psychiatrists and now enters an interdisciplinary phase in which psychotic psychopathology is understood as primarily an emotional disorder, but one that must also be considered from the point of view of neurobiology and neuropsychology as well as sociology. In this contribution, I offer the idea that perhaps the most important subtext in the psyche of the psychotic is what has been called the black hole. This massive deficit is ultimately attributable to a precocious abruption of the mother's physical and psychical presence from the infant, a phenomenon that has hereditary, congenital, perinatal, and continuing developmental reinterpretive elaborations. The psychoanalytic treatment of the psychotic consists of reversing the direction of his or her cataclysmic descent into the black hole and, at the same time, empathically loosening the control that the protective psychotic alterego has on the surviving self. Further, the psychoanalytic treatment of schizophrenia, in particular (as well as many of the other primitive mental disorders), now frequently involves both an interdisciplinary orientation and perspective and choices of interdisciplinary modalities extending across the whole biopsychosocial spectrum.
Ronald Reagan’s rhetorical re-invention of conservatism

ABSTRACTIn this article I focus on Ronald Reagan’s rhetorical re-invention of the conservative movement. First, I briefly examine the historic roots of American conservatism. Second, I review how conservatism evolved in Republican presidential politics. Third, I explore Ronald Reagan’s political and rhetorical transformation of the conservative movement from 1961 to 1966. Fourth, I argue that Reagan continued to re-invent the movement during his presidency thereby creating a popular vision of conservatism that lasted into the twenty-first century. I conclude by showing how, in 2016, Donald Trump fragmented Reagan’s vision.
Antibiotic Resistance of Salmonella Isolated from Pork Carcasses in Northeast Georgia

One hundred twenty-one isolates of Salmonella , isolated from 225 pork carcasses in Northeast Georgia during a two year period, were examined for resistance to nine anti-microbial agents. The most commonly found resistances were to penicillin (95%), trimethoprim (80.2%), ampicillin (80.1%), and tetracycline (64.5%). No resistance to gentamicin nor neomycin was detected. Chloramphenicol showed an 11.6% resistance in all strains tested. Eight different antibiotic resistance patterns were observed with 84.3% of isolates showing multiple resistance patterns with two or more drugs.
A Political Theory of Government Debt

Ricardian equivalence implies that the public debt affects neither wealth nor welfare. Rational, far seeing individuals undo privately any intergenerational transfers made by government. This conclusion is puzzling. Complaints about the burden of the debt on future generations are common in countries with public debt or current and prospective deficits. Why do rational individuals complain about a burden that, according to Ricardian equivalence does not occur?
Economic performance and incumbents' support in Latin America

We analyze the impact of economic conditions and income shocks on the stability of incumbents' support in Latin America. A reduction in the incumbent's vote share from one election to another is a behavioral indicator of voter discontent with her performance, a crucial element of democratic accountability. In explaining the percentage change in incumbent vote, we emphasize the importance of income effects. In particular, we argue that negative economic conditions have deleterious consequences on the capacity of incumbents to sustain their electoral support. We test this hypothesis both at the aggregate and individual level using electoral and survey data. We find evidence that negative economic shocks erode support for incumbents at both levels of analysis, thus increasing our confidence on results showing the impact of pocketbook economic vote in the region.
Energy band structure of CuInS 2 and optical spectra of CuInS 2 nanocrystals

Using first principles calculations we describe the energy band structure of bulk ${\mathrm{CuInS}}_{2}$. The energy band parameters for the multiband effective mass approximation that describes the band edges of this semiconductor are obtained by fitting them to the first principles spectra. Within the multiband effective mass approximation we develop a theoretical description for the structure of band-edge levels and optical properties of the ${\mathrm{CuInS}}_{2}$ nanocrystals. For the nanocrystals of spherical shape, the optical transitions are weakly allowed between the electron and hole ground states due to the tetragonal symmetry of the crystal lattice, resulting in a large Stokes shift of photoluminescence up to 300 meV in the smallest nanocrystals. This theory of the band-edge optical transitions in ${\mathrm{CuInS}}_{2}$ NCs can be applied to spherical NCs made of other chalcopyrite compounds.
The Impacts of Nitrogen Deposition on Forest Ecosystems

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes research addressing the influences of nitrogen deposition on forest nitrogen cycles and on forest ecosystem structure and function. Forest litter and soils typically interact with vegetation to form “ closed ” nitrogen cycles in which annual rates of plant nitrogen uptake per unit area approximately balance annual nitrogen returns to the forest floors and soil as litter and root material. This closed pattern of nitrogen cycling contrasts with the more “ open ” cycles of agricultural systems subjected to fertilizer nitrogen inputs. It also differs from the open cycles of many wetland, freshwater, and marine ecosystems in which inputs from surrounding landscapes, biological nitrogen-fixation, or upwelling bottom waters function to supply much of the nitrogen used to support primary production.
Detecting novel micro RNAs in rheumatoid arthritis with gene-based association testing.

Objectives To identify novel risk genes by gene-based association analysis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods We performed gene-based association testing with GATES (Gene-based Association Test using Extended Simes procedure) to augment the power of genomewide-association study (GWAS) results from the largest meta-GWAS by Okada et al. in 14,361 RA cases and 43,923 controls of European ancestry using 8,694,488 SNPs. Results We identified 115 genes significantly associated with RA by gene-based association testing corresponding to 43 RA risk loci; 23 risk loci contained a single top risk gene, while 20 risk loci contained two or more risk genes. We replicated 39 of the genomewide significant risk loci identified by Okada et al. in Europeans with RA; we found identical top genes for 26 loci. Our gene-based testing identified 6 new top gene hits for each of the following 6 RA risk loci: RPP14 (for DNASE1L3-ABHD6-PXK), PXT1 (for ETV7), MIR5708 (for TPD52), DDX6 (for CXCR5), SUOX (for CDK2), and PCAT29 (for LOC145837). We also identified a potential novel RA risk locus (11q23.3, start position 118528941 bp) which contains the following 3 genes: TREH-PHLDB1-MIR6716; the locus was not identified previously but may be a proxy for CXCR5. Conclusions Through novel comprehensive gene-based association testing in >50,000 Europeans with RA using ~8 million SNPs, we confirmed prior RA risk loci and identified novel risk genes including non-coding regulatory miRNAs, providing further insight into the complex genetics of RA.
Public Political Ecology: a community of praxis for earth stewardship

Abstract Political ecology is a powerful framework for analyzing the underlying causes of environmental change, yet underutilized for guiding an ethical response to the Anthropocene. In this article, I introduce Public Political Ecology as an approach for practicing engaged scholarship in this moment of ecological crisis. A political, ethical and educational project, public political ecology is influenced by Antonio Gramsci's work on the philosophy of praxis. It therefore operates from the understanding that ideas are a material force capable of transforming society in revolutionary ways, and through a community of praxis within which academics can play important roles by engaging more actively with broader publics. Innovations from public geographies such as participatory action research and mapping, service learning, and social media offer important methodologies and tools for this approach. Public political ecology, then, is a means by which political ecologists can serve as earth stewards and thus finally make good on the field's emancipatory claims. Keywords: Political ecology, engaged scholarship, earth stewardship, public geography, praxis
Real-time hierarchical classification of sound signals for hearing improvement devices

Abstract This paper presents a real-time hierarchical approach to sound signal classification for utilization in hearing improvement devices. The developed classification hierarchy consists of three levels to classify speech, music and different noise types. A distinguishing attribute of this hierarchical approach is that effective features are computed as needed at different levels of the hierarchy making the classification process computationally efficient. This approach is compared to the conventional one-step classification approach by examining both trained and non-trained sound signals. The results obtained show higher classification rates as well as higher computational efficiency of this hierarchical approach compared to the conventional one-step approach.