cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A rule-based ad hoc method for selecting a bandwidth in kernel home-range analyses

Background: An important issue in conducting kernel home-range analyses is the choice of bandwidth or smoothing parameter. To examine the effects of this choice, telemetry data were collected at high sampling rates (843 to 5,069 locations) on 20 North American elk, Cervus elaphus, in northeastern Oregon, USA, during 2000, 2002, and 2003. The elk had their collars replaced annually, hence none were monitored for more than a single year. True home ranges were defined by buffering the actual paths of individuals. Fixed-kernel and adaptive-kernel estimates were then determined with reference bandwidths (href), least-squares cross-validation bandwidths (hlscv), and rule-based ad hoc bandwidths designed to prevent under-smoothing (had hoc). Both raw data and sub-sampled sparse datasets (1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 locations/elk/day) were used. Results: With fixed-kernel and adaptive-kernel analyses, reference bandwidths were positively biased (including areas not part of an animal’s home range) but performed better (lower bias, closer match between estimated and true home ranges) with increasing sample size. Least-squares cross-validation bandwidths were positively biased with very small sample sizes, but quickly became negatively biased with increasing sample size, as home-range estimates broke up into disjoint polygons. Ad hoc bandwidths outperformed reference and least-squares crossvalidation bandwidths, exhibited only moderate positive bias, were relatively unaffected by sample size, and were characterized by lower Type I errors (falsely including areas not part of the true home range). Ad hoc bandwidths also exhibited lower Type II errors (failure to include portions of the true home range) than did least-squares crossvalidation bandwidths, although reference bandwidths resulted in lowest Type II error rates. Auto-correlation indices increased to about 150 to 200 locations per elk, and then stabilized. Bias of fixed-kernel analyses with ad hoc bandwidths was not affected by auto-correlation, but did increase with irregularly shaped home ranges with high fractal dimensions. Conclusions: The rule-based ad hoc bandwidths, specifically designed to prevent fragmentation of estimated home ranges, outperformed both href and hlscv, and gave the smallest value for h consistent with a contiguous home-range estimate. The protocol for choosing the ad hoc bandwidth was shown to be consistent and repeatable.
A Scalable and Elastic Business Event Processing System

The event processing system discussed in this paper updates target objects' state according to corresponding events. It is widely used in areas such as activity monitoring, business process automation, and business object state management. Existing event driven systems usually employ centralized single-server architecture, which is not scalable, elastic or robust enough to handle highly dynamic workload. In this paper, we propose a cloud-based event driven system that is highly scalable and elastic, and can tolerate even severe system failures. Our event driven system takes advantage of cloud technologies and adopts a completely distributed architecture. It therefore can scale to large number of servers in the cloud quickly with minimum administration overhead. Results from extensive evaluations show that our system's performance grows almost linearly with the number of servers in the system. Our system performs more than one order of magnitude better than a full-replication-based distributed event driven system of the same system scale.
Electromagnetic wave propagation in media with indefinite permittivity and permeability tensors.

The range of available electromagnetic material properties has been broadened by recent developments in structured media, notably photonic band gap materials and metamaterials. These media have allowed the realization of solutions to Maxwell’s equations not available in naturally occurring materials, fueling the discovery of new physical phenomena and the development of devices. Photonic crystal effects typically occur when the wavelength is on the same order or smaller than the lattice constant of the crystal. Metamaterials, on the other hand, have unit cell dimensions much smaller than the wavelength of interest. A homogenization process, not unlike
Opportunistic ALOHA and cross layer design for sensor networks

We propose a novel distributed medium access control scheme called opportunistic ALOHA for reachback in sensor networks with mobile agents. Each sensor transmits its information with a probability that is a function of its channel state (propagation channel gain). This function called transmission control is then designed under the assumption that orthogonal CDMA is employed to transmit information. The gains achieved in the throughput by use of transmission control are analyzed and evaluated numerically. The variation of the average number of transmitting users with distance from the collecting agent is analyzed. The proposed reachback protocol can be used in a variety of sensor network applications. We end by giving two examples of how the reachback protocol can be used by the sensor network to transmit information reliably to the collecting agent. The maximum rate at which the information can be reliably transmitted with the proposed schemes is evaluated as a function of the performance parameters of the reachback protocol.
Adaptive independent vector analysis for the separation of convoluted mixtures using EM algorithm

This paper presents a novel adaptive approach to the separation of convolutedly mixed acoustic signals based on independent vector analysis (IVA). IVA, as an extension of independent component analysis (ICA) from univariate components to multivariate components, provides an efficient framework for avoiding the well-known permutation problem in frequency-domain blind source separation (BSS). However, since IVA has been mostly employing pre-specified and simple source priors which are good fits to speech signals, the performance degrades when the mixture includes unknown sources other than speech. Also, sensor noise has not been considered. To tackle these limitations, we employ multivariate Gaussian mixture model (GMM) as the source priors and add sensor noise into the model. We derive an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm that estimates the separating matrices and the parameters of the unknown source prior together. The performance is demonstrated by experimental results that include the comparison with the IVA results using fixed source priors.
Written Testimony of Richard E. Levy Before the House Agriculture Committee, State of Kansas

In Hellebust v. Brownback, the Federal District Court for the District of Kansas invalidated two statutory sections that provided for the election of the State Board of Agriculture. The provisions authorized various county and statewide agricultural groups to send representatives to an annual convention at which members of the Board of Agriculture were elected. Because the Board of Agriculture exercised substantial regulatory authority over matters such as pesticides, water use and meat inspections, the district court found the Board to be a general governmental agency and held that this arrangement violated the “one person, one vote” principle of Reynolds v. Sims. Based on this conclusion, the court placed the Board’s functions in receivership and appointed the Governor (in her official capacity) as receiver pending legislative action to correct the defects in the selection process for the Board of Agriculture.The Kansas House Agriculture Committee requested that I comment on the constitutional issues raised by this case. Because of the public interest in these matters, The University of Kansas Law Review agreed to publish the written testimony I submitted to the Committee. This testimony is reproduced below in the form it was submitted, with the inevitable addition of footnotes and technical alterations. The testimony summarizes the case law concerning the one person, one vote requirement and explains why the district court decision is likely correct in its application of the law. It also discusses some of the constitutionally permissible means of addressing the selection of the Board. The testimony is followed by a brief postscript in which I describe some of the distinct concerns that developed in the oral exchange that accompanied my presentation of this testimony to the Committee.
Mature polymorphonuclear leukocytes express high-affinity receptors for IgG (Fc gamma RI) after stimulation with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF).

The high-affinity receptor for the constant region of immunoglobulin G IgG (Fc-yRI; CD64) is virtu- ally undetectable on mature polymorphonuclear neutro- phils (PMNs) in healthy individuals but is expressed on PMNs in patients with certain infections and in patients treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony- stimulating factor (rhG-CSF). The induction of FcyRI by rhG-CSF has previously been reported to result from effects on immature granulocyte progenitors. To evaluate the G-CSF effect on mature PMNs, we studied the corre- lation between G-CSF plasma concentration and expres- sion of FcyRI on PMNs in vivo as well as the effect of G-CSF on FcyRI expression on mature PMNs in vitro. Fc7RI expression on PMNs correlated (R = 0.79; p < .001) with plasma concentrations of endogenous or recombinant G-CSF in healthy volunteers and in patients undergoing high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation. PMNs exhibited a unimodal distribution for elevated Fc'yRI expression, suggesting that G-CSF induced increased expression of Fc-yRI on mature as well as on immature PMNs. In vitro, incuba- tion of mature PMNs with G-CSF induced mRNA for FcyRI. Significant FcyRI surface expression was induced in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Thus, G-CSF can act on mature PMNs to increase FcyRI expression and may be useful for stimulating antibody mediated immune functions of PMNs in vivo.J. Leukoc. Biol. 57: 455-461; 1995.
In vivo estimation of left ventricular wall volume in volume-overloaded canine hearts

Several geometric algorithms have been applied to estimate left ventricular wall volume (Vwall) from two-dimensional echocardiograms but have not been validated in eccentrically hypertrophied hearts. These algorithms can be fitted to the general formula: Vwall = k.Ao.Lo = k.Ai.Li, where Ao and Ai are the outer (epicardial) and inner (endocardial) short-axis areas, Lo and Li are the corresponding long-axis lengths, and k is a constant. The simplifying assumption that Lo and Li are equal yields Vwall = k.Awall.Lo, where Awall = Ao - Ai. In 20 unsedated dogs (10-30 kg), including 10 with aortic regurgitation of 1-18 wk duration, the relationship between actual Vwall (determined postmortem) and Awall.Lo was not significantly different from the line of identity (Vwall = 1.01 Awall.Lo + 0.5 ml, r = 0.98, SEE = 3.5 ml), indicating k was not significantly different from 1. There was no significant difference between predicted and actual Vwall over a range of 31-105 ml, and interobserver variability was 4.1%. The simple area-length product, Awall.Lo, accurately predicts Vwall of both normal and volume-overloaded hypertrophied canine left ventricles and is thus suitable for serial observations of hypertrophic adaptation to volume overload.
University students' perceptions of integrated performance assessment and the connection between classroom learning and assessment

In 2013, Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) was adopted at all levels of instruction at a private university in southern California. The study reports the opinions of 1,236 Novice, Intermediate Low, and Intermediate Mid Spanish students concerning IPA and their perceptions of the way in which classroom instruction was reflected in the content of those assessments. As a group, participants offered positive opinions of IPAs, although these varied somewhat depending on participants' proficiency level, previous assessment experiences, and reasons for taking Spanish, and the characteristics of the students' individual instructors and classes. Pedagogical issues that may influence IPA implementation in second language classes are also considered.
A Prospective Evaluation of Prehospital Patient Assessment by Direct In-field Observation: Failure of ALS Personnel to Measure Vital Signs

We prospectively evaluated the frequency with which advanced life support (ALS) personnel fail to attempt to measure blood pressure (BP) and/or pulse (P) during prehospital patient assessment. A single in-field observer rode on ALS rescue vehicles from 20 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies throughout Arizona during a one-year study (1/89–12/89). Data were collected from urban, suburban, and rural systems. Statistical evaluation was performed by Chi Square analysis with p <0.05 considered significant.Among 227 patient encounters, BP and/or P measurements were omitted in 84 cases (37.0%). BP and/or P were omitted in 50.0% of children (age <18 years) compared to 26.5% of adults (p=0.023). Among patients who were transported to a hospital, 19.4% had BP omitted compared to 49.1% of those not transported (p=0.00003). Seven of 58 patients in whom TVs were attempted (12.1 %) had BP omitted compared to 54 of 169 patients without IV attempts (32.0%, p=0.0055). Blood Pressure was omitted in 21.9% of patients transported Code 3 and in 24.2% of patients with Glasgow Coma Scale ≤13. Omission of BP occurred more frequently in non-urban agencies (33.9%) than in urban ones (20.0%, p=0.027).In a statewide evaluation of prehospital patient assessment, failure to measure vital signs (VS) occurred on a frequent basis. Our data indicate that a concerning lack of attention to the most basic details of patient assessment is common. It is possible that failure to measure VS might even happen more frequently during routine patient encounters without an observer present. Medical control physicians must emphasize to EMS personnel the paramount importance of careful assessment to ensure optimal patient care.
Perpetuating an aristocratic social elite

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Piedmontese aristocrats and their blue-blooded counterparts elsewhere on the Italian peninsula confronted a world in which many of the old social boundaries and barriers had been dismantled or blurred. With the disappearance of the absolute monarchy and the abolition of the last remnants of feudalism, nobles ceased to be members of a legally distinct order possessing any exclusive rights and prerogatives. Old-line families still had a legal right to sport their titles as symbols of their antiquity and to pass them from generation to generation, but these titles no longer afforded special privileges or significant economic advantages. Henceforth the prestige and influence of the nobility would have to rest chiefly on their status as a social elite. The loss of privileges unavoidably raised, however, fundamental questions about what it now meant to be a noble and about the extent to which individual nobles still constituted a coherent group, separate from other elements of Piedmont's propertied classes. Once titles ceased to carry with them tangible and exclusive benefits, they also ceased to provide even the appearance of unity to an “estate” that, in fact, had always encompassed sizeable variations in wealth, origins, and family lineage.
Classical Theory of Electromagnetism

The classical theory of electromagnetism is formulated on the basis of a particular frame of reference, called the rest frame or the ether frame, in the Newtonian space-time. We develop this theory in four stages: first, electrostatics concerning the electric fields associated with a steady distribution of electric charges; second, magnetostatics concerning the magnetic fields associated with a steady distribution of electric currents; third, time-varying electromagnetism concerning the time-dependent electromagnetic fields associated with unsteady charge-current distributions; and fourth, electromagnetism for deforming media concerning the interaction of electromagnetic fields with mechanical stress and strain fields.
Vulvovaginitis and Vaginal Bleeding in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients

Pediatric and adolescent patients may present to the emergency room with vulvovaginal bleeding, pruritus, or lesions. This chapter presents a broad differential diagnosis for vulvovaginal complaints in this population, subdivided by conditions presenting with bleeding, vesicles, ulcers or masses, and infectious versus noninfectious etiologies. Diagnostic approaches are provided for specific presenting complaints, as well as management methods for a range of conditions, including but not limited to vaginal foreign bodies, vulvovaginitis, lichen sclerosis, infections (bacterial, protozoan, fungal, and viral), Lipschutz ulcers, labial adhesions and urethral prolapse.
Time and frequency domain analysis and measurement results of varying acoustic signal to determine water pollutants in the Rio Grande river

Water occupies three forth of earth's surface. Water is directly and indirectly polluted in many ways. Therefore, it is of vital importance to monitor water pollution levels effectively and regularly. It is a well known fact that changes in the water medium and its parameters directly affect the propagation of acoustic signal through it. As a result, time and frequency domain analysis of an acoustic signal propagating through water can be a valued indicator of water pollution. Preliminary investigative results to determine water contaminants using acoustic signal in an indoor laboratory tank environment was presented in [1]. This paper presents an extended abstract of the continuing research involving a time and frequency domain analysis of acoustic signal in the presence of three water pollutants, namely fertilizer, household detergent, and pesticide. A measurement will be conducted in the Rio Grande River, Espanola, NM, at three different locations by transmitting a single pulse through the water at different depths and distances. The same measurement will be conducted in a tank with clean water and in a tank with three pollutants added separately. The three sets of received signal from the three measurements will be compared to each other. The sets of received signal from the measurement results will be compared to the simulated result of the time and frequency domain response of the acoustic signal for validation. To the best knowledge of the author(s) utilizing acoustic signal and its properties to determine water pollutants using the proposed method is a new approach.
Diurnal Activities of the Brown Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in and near Tasseling Corn Fields

Abstract The demand for effective management of the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), in corn and other crops has been increasing in recent years. To identify when and where the stink bugs are most likely to occur for targeted insecticide application, diurnal activities of stink bugs in and near the fields of tasseling corn plants were monitored using pheromone traps. Trap capture of the brown stink bugs in the corn field showed that the number of females was greater at corn field edges than in the interior, but there was no difference in male capture between the edge and interior. Stink bug dispersal within corn fields was further monitored using a mark–release–recapture technique, but the technique was not effective because only one of 158 marked individuals was recovered in the pheromone trap. To further understand the movement pattern among host plants, brown stink bugs were monitored continuously for 6 d near the tasseling corn fields using the pheromone traps. The number of females caught i...
Growth and Death of Selected Microorganisms in Ultrafiltered Milk.

Studies were made to compare the growth and death of Staphylococcus aureus , Streptococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli in skim milk concentrated by ultrafiltration to that in unconcentrated skim milk. Skim milk was volume concentrated to 2× in laboratory-scale stirred UF cells. Behavior of the organisms was analyzed in four inoculated milk samples: 2× retentate, 1× water-diluted retentate, milk equivalent (retentate plus permeate) and unconcentrated skim milk. Growth of each organism and of total aerobes did not vary in the four milk samples at either 7 or 13°C. For S. faecalis and E. coli , D-values for samples heated to 62.7°C did not significantly differ in the four milk samples (p>0.01). The D-value of S. aureus in water-diluted retentate was slightly but significantly lower than those in the other three milk samples (p<0.01), possibly due to the lowered lactose level in this sample.
Organ transplantation: Lung repair via cross-circulation

Extracorporeal cross-circulation between lungs enables the extended support of recipient lungs and the recovery of injured lungs in a swine model.
Incomplete surgical ligation of the left atrial appendage-time for a new look at an old problem.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia affecting an estimated 6 million individuals in the US (1). In patients with non-valvular AF, the risk of ischemic stroke/systemic embolization is nearly 5-fold greater after adjusting for all other risk factors (1). The left atrial appendage (LAA) has been identified as a common site of thrombus formation in patients with AF (2). As such, the LAA has been targeted for surgical closure using a variety of techniques for over 6 decades, a practice that is frequently performed in conjunction with mitral valve and AF surgery (3,4). However, surgical LAA exclusion can often yield incomplete LAA closure (5,6) which may in turn be associated with increased risk of thromboembolism (7). The latest studies have suggested a possible improvement in the rate of successful LAA closure using contemporary exclusion techniques such as endoscopic stapling or external clipping (8,9). However, these investigations have been uncontrolled and non-randomized. In fact, in a recent prospective randomized controlled study of patients undergoing AF surgery with concomitant LAA closure, Lee et al. (10) discovered that incomplete surgical LAA closure continues to remain a frequent and under-recognized clinical entity irrespective of closure technique.
Abstract 080: Validity of Performance Measures for Heart Failure

Background: Numerous quality metrics for heart failure care now exist based on process (from clinical guidelines) or outcome (readmission and mortality). It is unclear, however, how valid these mea...
Espaço da direção

The Multisensory, Multicognitive Approach (MMA) introduced in this paper is premised on the belief that the seat of language is in the brain prior to its physical manifestation in the form of speech being in the mouth. Hence, in teaching pronunciation, the identity of speech as a cognitive entity prior to being a physical one should be seriously considered in relevant language learning and teaching situations – more so in L2 situations than in L1. The traditional assumption that the ideal and the exclusive sensory modality of teaching pronunciation is the auditory modality is no longer acceptable because a holistic view of speech – in production, transmission and perception – manifests itself not only via the auditory sensory modality, but also equally significantly via the visual and tactile-kinesthetic sensory modalities. It is due to this fact that MMA is described as multisensory, a fact that determines the diversified auditory, visual and tactile-kinesthetic implementational techniques needed for effective and efficient teaching of pronunciation especially to adults. Equally importantly, the multicognitive nature of MMA requires the manipulation of diversified cognitive processes in the form of thinking, associating, analyzing, synthesizing, comparing, contrasting etc… for implementation. According to MMA, the teaching of pronunciation becomes more of a multifaceted educational process than a mere repeat-after-me mechanical parroting of speech sounds. Such an approach requires more effort on the part of the instructor and learner and a stronger collaboration between them through the diversification of teaching and learning styles, respectively. Certainly, MMA requires more time to implement in classroom situations, but the time spent is worth it. MMA is no longer a single technique or drill that tackles one sound at a time; instead, it is a joint selection of cognitive and sensory techniques that are applied concurrently to facilitate the L2/FL mastery in a creative and generative manner similar to the process of child language acquisition.
Deep Residual Nets for Improved Alzheimer's Diagnosis

We propose a framework that leverages deep residual CNNs pretrained on large, non-biomedical image data sets. These pretrained networks learn cross-domain features that improve low-level interpretation of images. We evaluate our model on brain imaging data and show that pretraining and the use of deep residual networks are crucial to seeing large improvements in Alzheimer's Disease diagnosis from brain MRIs.
Deformation-induced morphology evolution of precise polyethylene ionomers

Abstract The morphology evolution during deformation was characterized for a series of lithium neutralized acrylic acid containing linear polyethylenes (PEs). In situ X-ray scattering measurements simultaneously captured the changes in the inter-ionic aggregate peak and amorphous halo during uniaxial elongation. The effects of spacer length between pendant acid groups on the linear PE backbone, fraction of neutralized acid groups, and temperature were examined. This study indicates that the neutralization of the acid-functionalized precise polymers with metal salts significantly increases the melting and glass transition temperatures and improves mechanical properties, while the accessible morphologies remain controlled by the underlying polymer structure. During deformation above the thermal transitions, an anisotropic layered morphology similar to that found in the acid forms with 15 and 21 carbon spacers was observed in the precise ionomers with 9, 15, and 21 carbon spacers. Precise polymers with the highest acid and ionic content corresponding to a 9-carbon spacer have the highest ultimate tensile strength in the melt state due to persistent ionic aggregates. At elevated temperatures strain hardening was observed when significant chain orientation occurred corresponding to an anisotropic layered morphology, indicating some chain mobility through facile aggregate exchange.
Characterizing Contemporary Land Use/Cover Change on Isabela Island, Galápagos

This study evaluates land use/cover change in southern Isabela Island, Galapagos, between 2004 and 2010. Spatial and temporal patterns of land use/cover change in the highland community of Santo Tomas and the adjacent Galapagos National Park (GNP) were quantified using remotely sensed data, an object-based classification algorithm, and post-classification change detection. Information derived from population censuses and interviews with local residents were leveraged to contextualize the land use/cover results. Between 2004 and 2010, agricultural land use and native vegetation cover declined across the study area by 28 %, primarily due to the invasion of guava (Psidium guajava) and conversion to forest and shrub. Guava was the most dominant land cover, and its extent increased by nearly 45 % in the GNP and just over 2 % in Santo Tomas. The population of Santo Tomas declined significantly in the same period, and the proportion of landowners participating in off-farm activities increased. The results of this study indicate that ongoing processes of declining agricultural production and land abandonment, coupled with the spread of invasive plants, are transforming the highlands. The maps and results presented in this study will contribute to an improved understanding of landscape dynamics in the region as reliable and current land use/cover data for the Galapagos Islands are lacking.
High-Energy Atomic Physics—Experimental

These volumes are compelling testimony to the rapid development of heavy-ion collisions as penetrating probes of nuclear structure and as sources of information on nuclear dynamics. But with equal emphasis, the availability of heavy-ion projectiles has had a major impact on other fields of physics. One such particularly fruitful overlap is with atomic physics. Atomic collisions with light projectiles such as photons, electrons, and protons have always been important probes of atomic structure. Most recently, the introduction of a greatly expanded pool of heavy-ion projectiles and the ability to accelerate these to high energies has further extended this field and, more significantly, introduced unique opportunities to study new phenomena. Indeed, during the last decade, paralleling the development of heavy-ion accelerators, a clearly distinguishable field of high-energy atomic and molecular physics has emerged. Recent conferences reflect its scope (Od 80, Gr 81, Cr 82, Da 82).
Epidemiology of osteonecrosis in the USA

Osteonecrosis (ON) is an uncommon disease. It is therefore important to know the populations at high risk for ON and the anatomic sites most frequently involved in order to improve diagnostic acumen. Knowledge of the risk factors and etiology of ON lends insight into management and potentially prevention. Furthermore, the differences in the distribution of ON internationally may help highlight important topics for research and identify key areas of intervention to prevent the occurrence of disease.
mTORC1 Links Cellular Metabolism and Immune Functions in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and BCG Vaccination

Abstract Administration of the antituberculosis BCG vaccine often has beneficial effects in pathological conditions caused by nonrelated infectious agents or of a noninfectious nature. The mechanisms responsible for such nonspecific effects are poorly understood. It is becoming increasingly clear that BCG can induce trained immunity, a form of immunological memory recently described for innate immune responses. Here, we review how aerobic glycolysis, a metabolic change associated with cancer and immune cell activation, is associated with differentiation of proinflammatory macrophages, innate responses to tuberculosis, and trained immunity. Aerobic glycolysis is induced by the activation of regulatory pathways involving two serine/threonine protein kinases—protein kinase B (Akt) and mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)—and the transcriptional regulator hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1). Studies of tuberculosis pathogenesis and nonspecific BCG effects can complement each other and elucidate common underlying mechanisms of host responses to mycobacteria.
Reducing police turnover: Recommendations for the law enforcement agency:

Law enforcement is a career that offers long-term employment; however, not everyone who enters the profession stays until they retire. Because the costs of employing a police officer can be signifi...
Nutritional control of puberty in the bovine female: prenatal and early postnatal regulation of the neuroendocrine system

Puberty is a complex biological event that requires maturation of the reproductive neuroendocrine axis and subsequent initiation of high-frequency, episodic release of GnRH and LH. Nutrition is a critical factor affecting the neuroendocrine control of puberty. Although nutrient restriction during juvenile development delays puberty, elevated rates of body weight gain during this period facilitate pubertal maturation by programming hypothalamic centers that underlie the pubertal process. Recent findings suggest that maternal nutrition during gestation can also modulate the development of the fetal neuroendocrine axis, thus influencing puberty and subsequent reproductive function. Among the several metabolic signals, leptin plays a critical role in conveying metabolic information to the brain and, consequently, controlling puberty. The effects of leptin on GnRH secretion are mediated via an upstream neuronal network because GnRH neurons do not express the leptin receptor. Two neuronal populations located in the arcuate nucleus that express the orexigenic peptide neuropeptide Y (NPY), and the anorexigenic peptide alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone (αMSH), are key components of the neurocircuitry that conveys inhibitory (NPY) and excitatory (αMSH) inputs to GnRH neurons. In addition, neurons in the arcuate nucleus that coexpress kisspeptin, neurokinin B, and dynorphin (termed KNDy neurons) are also involved in the metabolic control of puberty. Our studies in the bovine female demonstrate that increased planes of nutrition during juvenile development lead to organizational and functional changes in hypothalamic pathways comprising NPY, proopiomelanocortin (POMC, the precursor of αMSH), and kisspeptin neurons. Changes include alterations in the abundance of NPY, POMC, and Kiss1 mRNA and in plasticity of the neuronal projections to GnRH neurons. Our studies also indicate that epigenetic mechanisms, such as modifications in the DNA methylation pattern, are involved in this process. Finally, our most recent data demonstrate that maternal nutrition during gestation can also induce morphological and functional changes in the hypothalamic NPY system in the heifer offspring that are likely to persist long after birth. These organizational changes occurring during fetal development have the potential to not only impact puberty but also influence reproductive performance throughout adulthood in the bovine female.
Microfluidic confinement enhances phenotype and function of hepatocyte spheroids.

A number of cell culture approaches have been described for maintenance of primary hepatocytes. Forming hepatocytes into three-dimensional (3-D) spheroids is one well-accepted method for extending ...
To be buried in Seville: the ambiguous integration of Italian merchants, 1480–1570

The hybridity of foreign merchants has received much scholarly attention, though the strategies undergirding the integration of Italians in Castile have been little explored. A selection of wills d...
Surface Remodeling vs. Whole-Cell Hemolysis of Reticulocytes Produced With Erythroid Stimulation or Iron Deficiency Anemia

32 P in membrane phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and red cell 14 C, reflecting cytoplasmic hemoglobin, were measured sequentially in rats given transfusions of doubly-labeled reticulocytes. With reticulocytes from normal rats there was a small decline in the levels of both the membrane and the cytoplasmic labels; the changes were almost parellel, although loss of membrane PE- 32 P exceeded that of 14 C to a small extent. By contrast, with "stress reticulocytes" from bled donors, there was a markedly disproportionate loss of the membrane label; this asymmetrical loss of membrane material was diminished when recipients had been splenectomized. With transfusions of doubly-labeled reticulocytes from rats with severe iron deficiency anemia, there was a marked loss of both membrane PE- 32 P and red cell 14 C which was only moderately asymmetrical. The asymmetrical loss of the membrane label found with stress reticulocytes supports the conclusion that these cells undergo a process of surface remodeling during their maturation in the peripheral blood. The spleen is partly responsible for this process. Normal reticulocytes also appear to undergo a minor degree of remodeling. On the other hand, the almost symmetrical loss of membrane and cytoplasmic label observed with reticulocytes from iron deficient rats indicates that many of the cells in this model of ineffective erythropoiesis are hemolyzed in their entirety. These experiments demonstrate that stress reticulocytes differ under different conditions and may lose cellular material by two, possibly interrelated, mechanisms: surface remodeling or whole-cell hemolysis.
Cross-recurrence analysis for pattern matching of multidimensional physiological signals

Cross-recurrence quantification analysis (CRQA), based on the cross-recurrence plot (CRP), is an effective method to characterize and quantify the nonlinear interrelationships between a pair of nonlinear time series. It allows the flexibility of reconstructing signals in the phase space and to identify different types of patterns at arbitrary positions between trajectories. These advantages make CRQA attractive for time series data mining tasks, which have been of recent interest in the literature. However, little has been done to exploit CRQA for pattern matching of multidimensional, especially spatiotemporal, physiological signals. In this paper, we present a novel methodology in which CRQA statistics serve as measures of dissimilarity between pairs of signals and are subsequently used to uncover clusters within the data. This methodology is evaluated on a real dataset consisting of 3D spatiotemporal vectorcardiogram (VCG) signals from healthy and diseased patients. Experimental results show that L max, the length of the longest diagonal line in the CRP, yields the best-performing clustering that almost exactly matches the ground truth diagnoses of patients. Results also show that our proposed measure, R τ max, which characterizes the maximum similarity between signals over all pairwise time-delayed alignments, outperforms all other tested CRQA measures (in terms of matching the ground truth) when the VCG signals are rescaled to reduce the effects of signal amplitude.
Roseville Protocol for the Management of Febrile Infants 7-60 Days.

OBJECTIVES: The Roseville Protocol modifies the Rochester Protocol by adding a high-risk temperature criterion of >38.5°C for infants 7 to 28 days old and by allowing febrile infants 29 to 60 days old with abnormal urinalysis but reassuring complete blood cell counts to be discharged home on oral antibiotics without receiving a lumbar puncture (LP). In this study, we define the Roseville Protocol test characteristics to detect invasive bacterial infection (IBI) and retrospectively compare its performance to that of the Rochester, Philadelphia, and Boston protocols. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we examine all cases of fever in infants aged 7 to 60 days presenting to a large health maintenance organization from 2007 to 2016 and having requisite laboratory tests for protocol analysis. The 4 protocols were retrospectively applied to this cohort to calculate each protocol’s sensitivity and specificity to detect IBI. Protocols were compared regarding recommended LPs, admissions, and parenteral antibiotics. RESULTS: In 627 infants 7 to 28 days old, the Roseville Protocol had a sensitivity of 96.7% and a negative predictive value of 99.5%. It identified 2 IBIs missed by the Rochester Protocol but recommended an absolute increase of 19% in LPs and admissions. In 1176 infants 29 to 60 days old, the Roseville Protocol had a sensitivity of 91.4% and a negative predictive value of 99.6%. There was an absolute reduction in LPs by 18% to 44% compared to the Rochester Protocol and by 74% to 100% compared to the Philadelphia and Boston protocols. There was an absolute reduction in admissions by 18% to 44% compared to the Rochester Protocol, by 25% to 51% compared to the Philadelphia Protocol, and by 10% to 36% compared to the Boston Protocol. CONCLUSIONS: The Roseville Protocol has sensitivity and specificity comparable to that of existing protocols for IBI in febrile infants 7 to 60 days old, while allowing for fewer invasive procedures and hospitalizations in infants ≥29 days old.
Evaluation of online Spanish and English health materials for preventive mastectomy. are we providing adequate information

Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in US Hispanic women. When present, lower health literacy levels potentially within this patient population require tailored materials to address health disparities. We aim to evaluate and compare Spanish and English online health care informative resources on preventive mastectomy. A Google web search using “preventive mastectomy” and “mastectomia preventiva” was conducted. The first ten institutional/organizational websites in each language were selected. Assessment of mean reading grade level, cultural sensitivity, understandability, and actionability was carried out utilizing validated tools. The mean reading grade level for English materials was 14.69 compared with 11.3 for Spanish, both exceeding the recommended grade level established by the AMA and NIH. The mean cultural sensitivity score for English information was 2.20 compared with 1.88 for Spanish information, both below the acceptability benchmark of 2.5. English webpages scored 65% and 35% for understandability and actionability, respectively, while Spanish webpages scored 47% and 18%. Online English and Spanish preventive mastectomy materials were written at an elevated reading level and lacked cultural sensitivity. Spanish language information demonstrated inferior understandability, actionability, and cultural sensitivity. Addressing these issues provides an opportunity to help resolve health literature disparities regarding preventive mastectomy for US Hispanic women.
The impact of ERP implementation on organizational capabilities and firm performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the implementation of ERP impacts both business strategy and organizational capabilities which in turn enhance firm performance. Specifically, the paper investigates the mediating effect of business strategy and organizational capabilities on the relationship between ERP implementation and firm performance.Design/methodology/approach – Using secondary data collected from more than 400 firms, this study tests the relationships among these variables.Findings – ERP implementation has a positive impact when a firm employs a prospector business strategy. A prospector business strategy enhances the firm's ability to achieve organizational capabilities and enables the firm to achieve higher levels of financial performance.Practical implications – ERP implementation encourages and supports a prospector strategy. ERP not only supports cost control, but also supports new product development and introductions. The prospector firm seeks better information to s...
Respiratory therapy for the treatment of anxiety: Meta-analytic review and regression.

Abstract Objective Respiratory abnormalities are a hallmark of anxiety symptomatology and may serve as clinically useful modifiers for alleviating anxiety symptoms. However, gold-standard anxiety treatments (e.g., cognitive-behavioral interventions) often do not directly address respiratory components despite their theoretical utility and clinical accessibility. This review examined the clinical effectiveness of respiratory interventions, interventions that directly target respiration abnormalities and processes, in treating trait anxiety symptoms. Methods The final analysis included 40 randomized controlled trials including at least one measure of trait anxiety, a respiratory-focused intervention group, and a non-respiratory control-group (active or inactive treatment). Overall effects of respiratory focused interventions were examined, as well as the effect of hypothesized moderators. Results Respiratory component interventions yielded significantly greater improvements (moderate to large effect) in anxiety symptoms than controls, with the stronger effects observed in comparison to inactive, rather than active, control conditions. Significant heterogeneity in findings suggests that variability in intervention design, population, and control comparison may obfuscate interpretation of findings. Conclusions Evidence supports the clinical utility of respiratory interventions as either an independent anxiety treatment, or as an adjunct to other interventions. Clinical and research implications of findings along with recommendations for ongoing investigations in this domain are discussed.
A Comparison of Methods for Estimating Coherence

Two methods for estimating coherence are compared experimentally. The first is the "traditional" method where power spectra are estimated using averaged periodograms. The second method involves power spectral estimates that are obtairied via adaptive modeling. The experimental conditions are similar to those that might be expected in working with seismometers.
Unintentional islanding and comparison of prevention techniques

When one or more distributed resources (DR) become isolated from the rest of the power system and inadvertently continue to serve loads separately from the utility system, the condition is known as "unintentional islanding". Utility engineers are seriously concerned about unintentional formation of islands. This is because the utility looses control of the voltage and the frequency during the islanding condition. Frequency deviation and out of limit voltage conditions can have severe consequences on utility loads. In this paper, various type of islanding is discussed. The focus is on the methods and special equipment used to detect and prevent islanding. Examples, advantages and disadvantages of each technique are also discussed.
Biomechanics of Seat Belt Design

This paper discusses the development of adequate criteria and evaluation methods for seat belt restraint design. These criteria should include the effect of seat belts in abdominal injury as well as head injury. It is concluded that belt load limiters and energy-absorbing devices should limit head-to-vehicle contact, ensure that the lap belt maintains proper contact with the bony pelvic girdle, and limit the belt loads. Studies are made of pulse shape and belt fabrics. Currently available mathematical models are used for the studies included in the paper.
An epitaxial emitter cap, SiGe-base bipolar technology with 22 ps ECL gate delay at liquid nitrogen temperature

It is shown that a properly designed silicon bipolar technology can achieve significantly faster circuit speed at liquid-nitrogen temperature (LNT) than at room temperature (RT). Transistors were fabricated using a reduced-temperature process employing an in situ doped polysilicon emitter contact, a lightly doped epitaxial emitter cap layer, and a graded SiGe base. The short thermal cycle associated with this emitter contact technology allows the formation of an abrupt, heavily doped base nearly immune to carrier freezeout, while maintaining superior emitter-base leakage characteristics at LNT. Transistors have a current gain ( beta ) as high as 500 at 84 K with a cutoff frequency (f/sub T/) of 61 GHz, up from 43 GHz at 300 K. ECL circuits switch at a record 21.9 ps at 84 K at J/sub cs/=1.0 mA/ mu m/sup 2/ (25.4 ps at 310 K). For completeness the low-temperature properties of this technology are compared with more conventional ipi and pi SiGe-base designs. >
Causal influence of car mass and size on driver fatality risk.

OBJECTIVES: This study estimated how adding mass, in the form of a passenger, to a car crashing head-on into another car affects fatality risks to both drivers. The study distinguished the causal roles of mass and size. METHODS: Head-on crashes between 2 cars, one with a right-front passenger and the other with only a driver, were examined with Fatality Analysis Reporting System data. RESULTS: Adding a passenger to a car led to a 14.5% reduction in driver risk ratio (risk to one driver divided by risk to the other). To divide this effect between the individual drivers, the author developed equations that express each driver's risk as a function of causal contributions from the mass and size of both involved cars. Adding a passenger reduced a driver's frontal crash fatality risk by 7.5% but increased the risk to the other driver by 8.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of a passenger reduces a driver's frontal crash fatality risk but increases the risk to the driver of the other car. The findings are applicable to some single-car crashes, in which the driver risk decrease is not offset by any increase in harm to others. When all cars carry the same additional cargo, total population risk is reduced.