cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Bipolar Disorder, Seasonality, and Premenstrual Symptoms

Cyclical mood disorders characterized by shifting affective states include bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder. In this article, we explore the relationship between these disorders and bring the reader up to date on the advances made in the past year in understanding the relationship between bipolar disorder, seasonality, and premenstrual symptoms.
Active backscattered optical polarimetric imaging of scattered targets

The imaging potential of efficient optical polarimetric techniques, for active imaging through scattering media has been studied. Specifically, the depolarization of backscattered polarized laser light, based on the Mueller-matrices formalism, has been investigated. The experimental results indicate clearly that, scattered photons from disperse media maintain a high degree of linear polarization (DOLP). As a result, image quality and target recognition can be improved significantly. In addition, experimental evidence is presented where scattered light exhibits higher retention of the original polarization with increasing scatterer concentration, within a range of observations.
Survival Benefits Associated With Provision of Psychotherapeutic Support to Patients With Gastrointestinal Cancer: Lots of Bang for a Few Bucks?

In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology ,K uchler et al 1 report 10-year survival data for participants in a randomized, controlled trial of psychotherapeutic support for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Relative to patients who received routine standard of care, they found better 10-year survival rates for pa- tientswhoreceivedapsychotherapeuticsupportinterventiondur- ing their hospitalization for surgery for a gastrointestinal cancer. Specifically, 21.3% of patients (29 of 136) in the intervention arm were alive 10 years postdiagnosis compared with 9.6% of patients (13 of 135) in the control arm. Results of this 10-year follow-up mirror those of a 2-year follow-up of this same intervention study
Human oocyte maturation is dependent on LH-stimulated accumulation of the epidermal growth factor-like growth factor, amphiregulin

BACKGROUND The LH surge promotes ovulation via activation of multiple signaling networks in the ovarian follicle. Studies in animal models have shown the importance of LH-induced activation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF)signaling network in critical peri-ovulatory events. We investigated the biological significance of regulatory mechanisms mediated by EGF-like growth factors during LH stimulation in humans.
Ambulatory Monitoring of Blood Pressure in Patients with Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep-related breathing disorders that cause sleep disruption frequently present with abnormal circadian blood pressure patterns or frank hypertension. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring has been useful in research documenting nocturnal hypertension and the normalization of blood pressure when sleep apnea is treated. In practice, similar measurements can provide a clue to the presence of an undiagnosed sleep disorder and can be valuable in following the blood pressure response to the treatment of sleep-disordered breathing.
Predictors of success following endovascular retreatment of intracranial aneurysms.

IntroductionAlthough approximately one in every 10 patients undergoing coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms requires retreatment, the factors that are associated with outcome following retre...
Taste preference following cross-innervation of rat fungiform taste buds

of rat fungiform taste buds. PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 4 (6) 929--933, 1969.It has been previously demonstrated that cross-innervation of rat taste buds alters some features of the taste input signal to the brain. In the present study the behavioral consequences of these alterations were assessed in a choice situation in which both water and taste solutions were available (two-bottle preference test). The taste preferences and aversions of operated control rats (one remaining IXth or chorda tympani nerve) were compared with those of experimental rats (one cross-regenerated IXth nerve). The reduced NaCI and sucrose preference observed 4 me. postoperatively was probably a consequence of the specific effects of cross-innervation and not due simply to partial denervation. Little effect was observed at 8 me. even though up to half of the existing tongue taste buds were cross-innervated.
Modelling root architecture: are there tradeoffs between efficiency and potential of resource acquisition?

summary A model is presented that examines the role of variations in the size of root systems as well as size-independent aspects of architecture on both the efficiency (volume of soil exploited per unit volume of root) and potential of exploitation (volume of soil exploited). This model is unique in that it explores the architecture of actual root systems rather than statistical approximations of root systems. This design allows the assessment of variations m root system size and size-independent aspects of architecture in realistic covarying combinations. Root systems of Senecio vulgaris L. grown in ambient and double-ambient atmospheric CO2 concentrations and two watering regimes were used to parameterize the model. There was a clear trade-off between the efficiency and potential of exploitation. Large root systems showed high exploitation but low exploitation efficiency. Inversely, small root systems showed low potential and high efficiency. Overall, the potential of soil exploitation was more strongly correlated with all measured aspects of root architecture than was efficiency. Root system size (total length or number of root tips) was much more highly correlated with patterns of soil exploitation, efficiency and potential, than were size independent aspects of architecture. These findings art important to studies of root architecture, demonstrating that studies of root system architecture need simultaneously to measure root system size, size-independent aspects of architecture and in situ patterns of deployment (e.g. trajectories of growth) to understand the functional significance of root architecture.
Methoprene and 20-OH-ecdysone affect male production in Daphnia pulex.

Exposure of Daphnia pulex to the insecticide and juvenile hormone-mimic methoprene resulted in a decrease in the incidence of all-male broods and an increase in the incidence of all-female broods compared with controls. These effects were observed at nominal concentrations of 10 and 100 mg/L, within the upper range of concentrations at which methoprene is applied in the environment. Because methoprene has been found to bind to the mammalian retinoid X receptor, we also tested the effects of retinoic acid on Daphnia reproduction. Neither 9-cis-retinoic acid nor all-trans-retinoic acid had any observable effect. Because juvenile hormone and ecdysteroids interact in many insect systems, we also exposed Daphnia to 20-OH-ecdysone. Exposure to the crustacean hormone 20-OH-ecdysone at levels of 1 and 10 mg/L resulted in an increase in all-male broods and a decrease in all-female broods, but 100 mg/L 20-OH-ecdysone resulted in a decrease in all-male broods and an increase in all-female broods. Our results suggest that juvenile hormone and ecdysteroids might play a role in the Daphnia sex determination system.
Long-term effects on pancreatic function of feeding a HC formula to rats during the preweaning period

We have investigated pancreatic changes associated with hyperinsulinemia and an insulin secretory response to an oral glucose load in a new rat model for obesity. Male Sprague-Dawley pups were reared on a high-carbohydrate (HC) or high-fat (HF) formula by gastrostomy during the suckling period and were weaned onto a stock diet. These animals remained either nutritionally unchallenged or challenged with a high-sucrose diet during the postweaning period. The HC formula-fed animals showed increased insulin concentrations in the plasma and pancreas and also showed impaired insulin secretory response compared with mother-fed control or HF animals in adult life. Immunocytochemical and morphometric studies revealed that hyperinsulinemia in the HC animals during the preweaning period and also in adult life was associated with hypertrophy of beta-cells in the pancreas. The results show that consumption of a HC formula during the suckling period influences pancreatic islet morphology resulting in hyperinsulinemia which eventually leads to the development of obesity later in adult life.
Concordance in cancer medication management

Abstract This article explores how the concept of concordance can help to identify gaps and opportunities for research on consumer–provider communication related to cancer medication management. The relationship of concordance, patient-centered care and shared decision making is examined. Research on unmet patient agendas, quality of life issues related to symptom management and tools to assist communication about patient somatic experience are discussed. The need for research on patient communication with pharmacists, nurses and other health team members beyond physicians is noted. Research implications for longitudinal, descriptive and intervention studies are offered.
A "Winner-Take-All" IC for determining the crystal of interaction in PET detectors

We present performance measurements of a "Winner-Take-All" (WTA) CMOS integrated circuit to be used with a pixel based PET detector module. Given n input voltages, it rapidly determines the input with the largest voltage, and outputs the encoded address of this input and a voltage proportional to this largest voltage. This is more desirable than a threshold approach for applications that require exactly one channel to be identified or when noise is a significant fraction of the input signal. A sixteen input prototype has been fabricated using two 1.2 /spl mu/m processes (HP linear MOS capacitance and Orbit double-poly capacitance). ICs from both processes reliably identify (within 50 ns) the maximum channel if /spl Delta/V (the difference between the two highest channels) is >20 mV. The key element in the WTA circuit is an array of high gain non-linear current amplifiers. There is one amplifier for each input channel, and each amplifier is composed of only two FETs. All amplifiers are supplied by a common, limited current source, so the channel with the largest input current takes all of this supply current while the other channels receive virtually none, Thus, these amplifier outputs become a set of logical bits that identify the maximum channel, which is encoded and used to select a multiplexer input. A voltage to current converter at each input channel turns this into a voltage sensitive device. This circuit uses very little power, drawing approximately 100 /spl mu/A at 5 V.
A direct-write piezoelectric PVDF nanogenerator

In this paper, we have successfully demonstrated the capability of a direct-write piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanogenerator using near-field electrospinning (NFES). Repeated and consistent output voltage up to 8.5 mV has been generated under an external strain of 0.092% from a single electrospun PVDF nanofiber, of which the output power is approximately 7.2 pW. We believe this technology can open up unprecedented possibilities in the field of NEMS/MEMS to convert mechanical strain into electricity for energy harvesting or strain sensing applications.
Modulation of coronary autoregulatory responses by endothelium-derived nitric oxide

There is increasing evidence that endothelium-derived nitric oxide production is an important mechanism contributing to the regulation of myocardial perfusion during ischemia distal to a coronary stenosis. Studies in conscious chronically instrumented animals have extended observations in isolated arterioles to demonstrate that inhibiting nitric oxide synthase with L-arginine analogs increases the vulnerability of the myocardium to ischemia. The variable extent to which endothelium-dependent function is impaired in human atherosclerosis raises the possibility that abnormalities in resistance vessel control contribute to the functional significance of a fixed epicardial coronary stenosis. This may explain the wide variability between the physiological effects of a given coronary stenosis and its angiographic severity. Aggressive intervention to normalize endothelium-dependent vasodilation and local nitric oxide release may have beneficial effects on the functional significance of a coronary stenosis.
Advice to the beginning speaker on using humor—what the research tells us

(1985). Advice to the beginning speaker on using humor—what the research tells us. Communication Education: Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 142-147.
The Durban Platform Negotiations: Goals and Options

In December 2011, the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted the Durban Platform, which launched a new round of negotiations to develop "a protocol, another legal instrument, or an agreed outcome with legal force," to be effective from 2020. This essay for the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements unpacks the elements of the Durban Platform and analyzes the possible goals of the new round of negotiations. It then examines three possible models of how international law might address climate change: a contractual model, a prescriptive model, and a facilitative model. The essay questions both the contractual and prescriptive models, the contractual model because there does not appear to be a contract zone within which agreement by the major emitters is possible; the prescriptive model on grounds of ineffectiveness. This leaves the facilitative model, which is uncertain to deliver the level of emissions reductions believed necessary to prevent dangerous climate change, but might still be of significant value in slowing the rate of global warming. Until there is agreement among states about which general approach to pursue, the Durban Platform process will continue the pattern of the last decade, in which states are engaged, not in a negotiation of the text of an agreement, but rather a meta-negotiation about what to negotiate.
Bordering on Criminal: The Routine Abuse of Migrants in the Removal System (Part 2: Possessions Taken and Not Returned)

This report focuses on the issue of repatriated migrants’ belongings being taken and not returned by U.S. authorities. Overall, we find that the taking of belongings and the failure to return them is not a random, sporadic occurrence, but a systematic practice. One indication of this is that just over one-third of deportees report having belongings taken and not returned. Perhaps one of the most alarming findings is that, among deportees who were carrying Mexican identification cards, 1 out of every 4 had their card taken and not returned. The taking of possessions, particularly identity documents, can have serious consequences and is an expression of how dysfunctional the deportation system is. Our study finds that migrants processed through Operation Streamline, or held in detention for a week or longer, are most likely to have their possessions taken and not returned.
Geographic Differences in Returns to Iowa Farmers: 1869–1950

THE agricultural sector of the Iowa economy is used for testing certain hypotheses relating to economic growth and operation of factor markets. The particular theoretical significance of agricultural development in Iowa lies in the apparently persistent differential in incomes to farm workers in the different regions of the state as measured in terms of gross income per farm worker. It is paradoxical that this difference should persist in an area that apparently has high degrees of mobility and where there is considerable knowledge of alternative opportunities in a context meeting accepted definitions of competitive enterprise. Iowa agriculture, like other large sectors of American agriculture, is characterized by the proliferation of small, independent firms and seems to possess no important barriers to mobility and information. Transportation and communication systems are well developed; literacy rates are remarkably high. Production methods and types-of-farming appear to be rather homogeneous, which implies that mobile labor would have to make little, if any, adaptation of existing skills. Other facts emphasize the paradoxical quality of income differentials by regions in Iowa. The state's low income areas are in close proximity to its high income areas. The level of income in the poorest areas is well above that of the problem areas of American agriculture such as the Appalachian region and the Mississippi Delta, implying an increased ability to finance population movement when deemed necessary.
New Institutional Econometrics: The Case of Contracting and Organizations Research

New Institutional Economics is characterized by its real-word orientation and empirical focus. Nowhere is this broader scope more evident than in microeconomic theories of firms and markets. NIE has led researchers not only to crack open the black box of production known as the firm, but also the market itself, examining the structures of individual transactions and their implications for firm and market performance. The result is a burgeoning field of research on the causes and consequences of different modes for governing the allocation and coordination of resources in an economy. The broad array of questions addressed and data employed require NIE researchers to be flexible in their choice of econometric methods. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of econometric techniques appropriate to NIE research and some of the empirical and theoretical challenges facing scholars in this field.
Infestation and Dispersal of Noctuidonema guyanense (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) on Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The distribution, dispersal, and population growth of an ectoparasitic nematode, Noctuidonema guyanense RemilIet & Silvain, were studied on mating pairs of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) in the laboratory. Nematode populations were the greatest on terminal abdominal segments of wild S.frugiperda males. Eggs and neonates were predominant on abdominal segments eight to ten, whereas juveniles were distributed widely along a host's abdomen and thorax. Although female nematodes moved from infested male moths to noninfested female moths within 15 min after initiation of host mating, male and immature nematodes often did not transfer until 1.5–2.0 h after host copulation began. Nematodes migrated anteriorly to the fifth abdominal segment of new hosts in 4–7 h. Forty-eight percent of the host-matings resulted in the transfer of an average of 5.3 nematodes to new hosts. Populations of N.guyanense on newly infested female moths increased to an average of 400 nematodes within 176 h after the initiation of mating by hosts. About 80% of the nematodes that transferred to new hosts were juveniles.
Random noise cancellation in seismic data using a 3-D adaptive median filter

Summary Median filters have been successfully applied to seismic data to reduce random noise. Due to their edge-preserving nature, median filters are also sometimes applied prior to edge detection. Current median filters use a fixed size which does not account for either the amount of local noise or local structure. To enhance the edge-preserving capability of median filters we incorporate a noise estimation criterion in the filter design and then adaptively change the 3D filter size based on local noise levels. This adaptive median filter locally balances the removal of random noise with the preservation of important geological features such as faults, fractures, and channels. The adaptive median filter is compared with a classic fixedsize median filter as a preprocessor to edge detection using the coherence cube algorithm. The adaptive median filter shows improved signal-to-noise ratio and better edge
Modifying the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time to Measure Teacher Practices Related to Physical Activity Promotion: SOFIT+

ABSTRACTThe System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time (SOFIT) is commonly used to measure variables related to physical activity during physical education (PE). However, SOFIT does not yield detailed information about teacher practices related to children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). This study describes the modification of SOFIT (referred to as SOFIT+) to measure teacher practices related to students’ MVPA during PE lessons. Teacher practices that (a) promote and (b) limit children’s MVPA were identified and operationally defined via a literature review and Delphi Method. Reliability and validity data for SOFIT+ were obtained from 20 video recorded elementary PE lessons. Validity of teacher behaviors included in SOFIT+ was established using students’ accelerometer-derived MVPA. Twenty-seven teacher practices were identified. Inter-rater agreement ranged from 75.8% to 99.1% across 724 reliability scans. Six and seven practices were independently related to girls’ and boys’ MVPA, re...
Design of Station Keeping System for Autonomous Airship Based on Variable Structure Model-Following Method

The parameter uncertainties lie in station keeping of autonomous airship at high attitude,such as model parameter perturbation and variation of wind turbulence of stratosphere,so station keeping controller is designed in this article,which is based on a variable structure model-following method.The nonlinear simulation results show that the controller can adapt well to large-scale variation of model parameter perturbation and wind turbulence,which can meet the requirement of location keeping accuracy very well,and has good robustness and dynamic performance.
Clustering novel intents in a conversational interaction system with semantic parsing.

Spoken language understanding (SLU) in today’s conversational systems focuses on recognizing a set of domains, intents, and associated arguments, that are determined by application developers. User requests that are not covered by these are usually directed to search engines, and may remain unhandled. We propose a method that aims to find common user intents amongst these uncovered, out-of-domain utterances, with the goal of supporting future phases of dialog system design. Our approach relies on finding common semantic patterns in uncovered user utterances using an Abstract Meaning Representation based semantic parser. We represent the corpus as a graph and find subgraphs that represent clusters, by pruning the corpus graph according to frequency and entropy. We employ crowd-workers to select and label the resulting clusters and compare resulting clusters with two baselines. Experimental analyses show that we obtain higher coverage and accuracy with the semantic parsing based clustering method. Furthermore, since the intents and candidate slots are already induced, these utterances can also be used in unsupervised SLU modeling. In intent classification experiments, we show that the statistical model trained using the clusters formed by this approach results in higher classification F-measure (showing about 25% relative improvement) in comparison to the alternatives.
Oral Cephalosporins in Perspective

Oral cephalosporins, after 25 years of use, continue to present the clinician with a therapeutic challenge. The older agents have been extensively prescribed for ambulatory adult and pediatric patients with a wide variety of infections caused by gram-positive and some gram-negative organisms. The newer agents, cefaclor, cefuroxime axetil, and cefixime, have increased in vitro activity against beta-lactamase-secreting strains of Haemophilus influenzae and Branhamella catarrhalis which has made them more popular for the treatment of otitis media and respiratory tract infections in children. The new agents are also more active against most gram-negative organisms. However, clinical trials have failed to show a clear-cut superiority over older, proven therapy when used to treat infections of the respiratory tract, middle ear, skin and soft tissue, urinary tract, and bone and joints when caused by sensitive organisms. Published reports of clinical trials continue to support the recommendation that oral cephalosporins, especially the newer and more expensive agents, be reserved for second- or third-line therapy when amoxicillin, penicillin V, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole have either failed or produced patient intolerance. Erythromycin/sulfisoxazole and amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium are equally efficacious and also less expensive than cefaclor, cefuroxime axetil, and cefixime and could be considered second-line therapy prior to the use of the newer cephalosporins for infections in the ambulatory patient.
Outcome of Relapse after Reduced-Intensity Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) - The Effect of the Underlying Disease on Survival Following Relapse.

We have reported that the outcome of reduced-intensity allogeneic HSCT is not affected by the underlying diagnosis (Mehta et al, ASH 2006). With an additional year’s follow-up and a minimum follow-up of 18 months, this observation continues to remain valid in a series of 91 uniformly-treated patients with hematologic malignancies (19–71 years; median 53; 22% >60 years). 29 patients had acute leukemia, 38 had lymphoma (Hodgkin/NHL) or CLL, and 24 had myeloma. Two-thirds of the patients had refractory disease. Performance status (PS) was 0 in 31%, 1 in 47%, and 2/3 in 22%. Donors (55% aged >45 years) were HLA-matched siblings (n=51), 10/10 allele-matched unrelated individuals (n=29), or 9/10 allele-matched related/unrelated individuals (n=11). The conditioning regimen comprised 100 mg/m2 melphalan with (if no prior autograft) or without (prior autograft) 50 mg/kg cyclophosphamide. GVHD prophylaxis comprised cyclosporine-mycophenolate (HLA-matched sibling donors) or tacrolimus-mycophenolate (other type of donors). G-CSF or GM-CSF were not given routinely to accelerate engraftment. Supportive care was uniform. As the figure shows, the underlying disease did not affect overall survival (OS) after HSCT. ![Figure][1] Figure The underlying disease did not affect disease-free survival, relapse risk or transplant-related mortality. 51 of these patients relapsed. Relapsed disease was treated with immunotherapy (withdrawal of immunosuppression and/or donor cell infusion), and/or non-immune salvage treatment options. The latter included conventional chemotherapy for all 3 disease groups, monoclonal antibodies for NHL, and drugs such as thalidomide, bortezomib and lenalidomide for myeloma. Some patients with poor performance status received only supportive therapy. 43 of the 51 relapsing patients, including all with acute leukemia, died of progressive disease or complications of salvage therapy. The 8 survivors have lymphoma or myeloma, and are in remission or have stable disease. As the figure shows, OS after relapse was significantly affected by the underlying disease. ![Figure][1] Figure Other factors affecting OS significantly after relapse were LDH and performance status. These data suggest that the outcome of patients with hematologic malignancies is generally poor if the disease relapses after reduced-intensity HSCT. However, some patients with lymphoma or myeloma can survive for prolonged periods after relapse because of effective salvage therapy options. Patients with acute leukemia fare poorly because of lack of effective salvage therapy, and exploration of strategies such as a second allograft may be appropriate for them. [1]: pending:yes
Mutation in an unannotated protein confers carbapenem resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

β-Lactams are the most widely used antibacterials. Among β-lactams, carbapenems are considered the last line of defense against recalcitrant infections. As recent developments have prompted consideration of carbapenems for treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis, it is only a matter of time before Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains resistant to these drugs will emerge. In the present study, we investigated the genetic basis that confers such resistance. To our surprise, instead of mutations in the known β-lactam targets, a single nucleotide polymorphism in the Rv2421c-Rv2422 intergenic region was common among M. tuberculosis mutants selected with meropenem or biapenem. We present data supporting the hypothesis that this locus harbors a previously unidentified gene that encodes a protein. This protein binds to β-lactams, slowly hydrolyzes the chromogenic β-lactam nitrocefin, and is inhibited by select penicillins and carbapenems and the β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanate. The mutation results in a W62R substitution that reduces the protein's nitrocefin-hydrolyzing activity and binding affinities for carbapenems.
Cognitive specialization for learning faces is associated with shifts in the brain transcriptome of a social wasp.

ABSTRACT The specialized ability to learn and recall individuals based on distinct facial features is known in only a few, large-brained social taxa. Social paper wasps in the genus Polistes are the only insects known to possess this form of cognitive specialization. We analyzed genome-wide brain gene expression during facial and pattern training for two species of paper wasps ( P. fuscatus , which has face recognition, and P. metricus , which does not) using RNA sequencing. We identified 237 transcripts associated with face specialization in P. fuscatus , including some transcripts involved in neuronal signaling (serotonin receptor and tachykinin). Polistes metricus that learned faces (without specialized learning) and P. fuscatus in social interactions with familiar partners (from a previous study) showed distinct sets of brain differentially expressed transcripts. These data suggest face specialization in P. fuscatus is related to shifts in the brain transcriptome associated with genes distinct from those related to general visual learning and social interactions.
Reduced-Intensity Haploidentical Bone Marrow Transplantation with Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide for Solid Tumors in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients

Abstract High-risk, recurrent, or refractory solid tumors in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult (AYA) patients have an extremely poor prognosis despite current intensive treatment regimens. We piloted an allogeneic bone marrow transplant platform using reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) and partially HLA-mismatched (haploidentical) related donors for this population of pediatric and AYA solid tumor patients. Sixteen patients received fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, and low-dose total body irradiation RIC haploidentical BMT (haploBMT) followed by post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy), mycophenolate mofetil, and sirolimus. All assessable patients were full donor chimeras on day 30 with a median neutrophil recovery of 19 days and platelet recovery of 21 days. One patient (7%) exhibited secondary graft failure associated with concomitant infection. The median follow-up time was 15 months. Overall survival was 88%, 56%, and 21% at 6, 12, and 24 months, respectively. Median survival from transplant date was 14 months with a median progression-free survival 7 months. We observed limited graft-versus-host disease in 3 patients and nonrelapse mortality in 1 patient. We demonstrated that RIC haploBMT with PTCy is feasible and has acceptable toxicities in patients with incurable pediatric and AYA solid tumors; thus, this approach serves as a platform for post-transplant strategies to prevent relapse and optimize progression-free survival.
Electromechanical wave imaging and electromechanical wave velocity estimation in a large animal model of myocardial infarction

Echocardiography is often used in the clinic for detection and characterization of myocardial infarction. Electromechanical wave imaging (EWI) is a non-invasive ultrasound-based imaging technique based on time-domain incremental motion and strain estimation that can evaluate changes in contractility in the heart. In this study, electromechanical activation is assessed in infarcted heart to determine whether EWI is capable of detecting and monitoring infarct formation. Additionally, methods for estimating electromechanical wave (EW) velocity are presented, and changes in the EW propagation velocity after infarct formation are studied. Five (n = 5) adult mongrels were used in this study. Successful infarct formation was achieved in three animals by ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. Dogs were survived for a few days after LAD ligation and monitored daily with EWI. At the end of the survival period, dogs were sacrificed and TTC (tetrazolium chloride) staining confirmed the formation and location of the infarct. In all three dogs, as soon as day 1 EWI was capable of detecting late-activated and non-activated regions, which grew over the next few days. On final day images, the extent of these regions corresponded to the location of infarct as confirmed by staining. EW velocities in border zones of infarct were significantly lower post-infarct formation when compared to baseline, whereas velocities in healthy tissues were not. These results indicate that EWI and EW velocity might help with the detection of infarcts and their border zones, which may be useful for characterizing arrhythmogenic substrate.
Community development as micropolitics: Comparing theories, policies, and politics in America and Britain

Community development professionals understand the importance of having democratically participative approaches in community and economic development projects. Not so readily apparent is how govern...
Diffusion-based cartogram on spheres

ABSTRACTA planar cartogram is a two-dimensional map, on which the area of each closed region is in direct proportion to a chosen extensive property. To date, various algorithms have been proposed to construct planar cartograms. This work extends the two-dimensional, diffusion-based, topologically invariant cartogram algorithm proposed by Gastner and Newman onto spheres. Unlike its planar counterpart, the spherical formulation does not require boundary conditions and is invariant to the rotation of input data on the sphere. An implementation of this spherical cartogram transformation is designed to generate readable topology-preserving cartograms on spheres. Lastly, the method is illustrated with applications to global data such as worldwide human population, gross domestic product (purchasing power parity), carbon dioxide emissions and regional data such as the Electoral College of the United States presidential election of 2016.
Differentiating corporal punishment from physical abuse in the prediction of lifetime aggression

Corporal punishment and parental physical abuse often co-occur during upbringing, making it difficult to differentiate their selective impacts on psychological functioning. Associations between corporal punishment and a number of lifetime aggression indicators were examined in this study after efforts to control the potential influence of various forms of co-occurring maltreatment (parental physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, sibling abuse, peer bullying, and observed parental violence). College students (N = 1,136) provided retrospective self-reports regarding their history of aggression and levels of exposure to childhood corporal punishment and maltreatment experiences. Analyses focused on three hypotheses: 1) The odds of experiencing childhood physical abuse would be higher among respondents reporting frequent corporal punishment during upbringing; 2) Corporal punishment scores would predict the criterion aggression indices after control of variance associated with childhood maltreatment; 3) Aggression scores would be higher among respondents classified in the moderate and elevated corporal punishment risk groups. Strong support was found for the first hypothesis since the odds of childhood physical abuse recollections were higher (OR = 65.3) among respondents who experienced frequent (>60 total disciplinary acts) corporal punishment during upbringing. Partial support was found for the second and third hypotheses. Dimensional and categorical corporal punishment scores were associated significantly with half of the criterion measures. These findings support efforts to dissuade reliance on corporal punishment to manage child behavior.
MCM2-7-dependent cohesin loading during S phase promotes sister-chromatid cohesion

DNA replication transforms cohesin rings dynamically associated with chromatin into the cohesive form to establish sister-chromatid cohesion. Here, we show that, in human cells, cohesin loading onto chromosomes during early S phase requires the replicative helicase MCM2-7 and the kinase DDK. Cohesin and its loader SCC2/4 (NIPBL/MAU2 in humans) associate with DDK and phosphorylated MCM2-7. This binding does not require MCM2-7 activation by CDC45 and GINS, but its persistence on activated MCM2-7 requires fork-stabilizing replisome components. Inactivation of these replisome components impairs cohesin loading and causes interphase cohesion defects. Interfering with Okazaki fragment processing or nucleosome assembly does not impact cohesion. Therefore, MCM2-7-coupled cohesin loading promotes cohesion establishment, which occurs without Okazaki fragment maturation. We propose that the cohesin-loader complex bound to MCM2-7 is mobilized upon helicase activation, transiently held by the replisome, and deposited behind the replication fork to encircle sister chromatids and establish cohesion.
An Open Trial of Parent-Child Care (PC-CARE)-A 6-Week Dyadic Parenting Intervention for Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems.

Research shows that parenting interventions are plagued with the problem of early treatment termination. A brief 6-week intervention, parent–child care (PC-CARE) was developed to minimize the time investment for parents while maximizing the probability of improving behavioral problems of their 1–10 year old children. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of PC-CARE and examine preliminary outcomes. The data were collected as part of an open trial in a community mental health clinic and included pre- and post-treatment performance outcomes, weekly measures of treatment progress, and assessments of treatment fidelity. Participants were 64 children and their primary caregivers, referred by physicians, social workers, or self-referred for help with their children’s difficult behaviors. The retention rate was 94%. Results of analyses pre- to post-intervention scores showed significant improvements in child behavioral problems as well as improvements in parenting stress and positive parenting skills. The findings suggest that PC-CARE may be a beneficial treatment for children with disruptive behaviors, encourage future research into the efficacy of this brief parenting intervention, and its effectiveness in other populations and contexts.
Pericardial-fluid Complement: Normal Values

Reports of low pericardial-fluid complement levels in systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis have been difficult to interpret, as few data are available to describe complement concentrations in patients without pericardial disease. The authors therefore determined normal values under standardized conditions of collection, storage, and assay. The normal ranges for pericardial-fluid C3, C4, and total hemolytic complement were 35-127 mg/dl, 6.3-23 mg/dl, and 1.9-9.1 CH50 units, respectively. Storage at -20 C resulted in a 50% reduction in values. Hence, storage at -70 C is recommended. As the level of pericardial-fluid total hemolytic complement is normally low, caution is needed in interpreting its apparent reduction in various immunologic diseases.
Functional MRI (fMRI)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows researchers to investigate the mechanisms underlying information processing in the human brain. Most fMRI studies use standard MRI scanners to collect images sensitive to changes in blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast, which provides an indirect measure of neuronal activity. The images collected in BOLD fMRI experiments generally have spatial resolution on the order of several millimeters and temporal resolution on the order of several seconds. fMRI provides several advantages over other human neuroimaging techniques: it is noninvasive, can be adapted to a wide range of experiments, and allows good localization of activation. Because of these and other strengths, fMRI has grown over the past two decades to become the dominant technique in human cognitive neuroscience. However, fMRI also has significant limitations, especially regarding the conclusions that can be drawn from individual studies. This article introduces the basic physical and physiological principles of fMRI, followed by a consideration of the core concepts involved in fMRI experimentation.
Diagnosis of Sexual Dysfunction in Spinal-Cord-Injured Women

Spinal cord trauma impacts on an injured woman’s sexuality in a variety of ways, depending not only on how, how much, and where in the spinal cord the damage occurred, but also on the soma and psyche that she had developed preinjury and that will determine her responses postinjury. Much remains to be learned about both the somatic and the psychological aspects. Research and reliable reporting about spinal-cord-injured women has been scant. It is important to keep in mind that there is great variation from one individual to another and, even in the same individual, from one time to another. The goal of sexual activity is satisfaction for the particular individual within the limits possible, not reaching for a standard and probably impossible ideal of function and feeling (1,2).
Low-Complexity Video Streaming for Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

In recent years, there has been intense research and considerable progress in solving numerous wireless sensor networking challenges. However, the key problem of enabling real-time quality-aware multimedia transmission over wireless sensor networks is largely unexplored. The large amount of data generated by most multimedia applications (compared to traditional scalar sensor networks), along with the higher QoS requirements make it difficult to meet the low energy use requirements of practical sensor networks. We explore the use of compressed sensing (aka “compressive sampling”) to reduce the energy required to encode and transmit high quality video in a severely resource-constrained environment. In this chapter, we will examine some of the major challenges of wireless multimedia sensor network (WMSN) implementation. Specifically, we examine what it would take to develop a WMSN that has similar performance (and restrictions) as a traditional scalar wireless sensor network (WSN). We then examine how we can use the new paradigm of compressed sensing (CS) to solve many of these problems.
Species delimitation in endangered groundwater salamanders: Implications for aquifer management and biodiversity conservation

Groundwater-dependent species are among the least-known components of global biodiversity, as well as some of the most vulnerable because of rapid groundwater depletion at regional and global scales. The karstic Edwards–Trinity aquifer system of west-central Texas is one of the most species-rich groundwater systems in the world, represented by dozens of endemic groundwater-obligate species with narrow, naturally fragmented distributions. Here, we examine how geomorphological and hydrogeological processes have driven population divergence and speciation in a radiation of salamanders ( Eurycea ) endemic to the Edwards–Trinity system using phylogenetic and population genetic analysis of genome-wide DNA sequence data. Results revealed complex patterns of isolation and reconnection driven by surface and subsurface hydrology, resulting in both adaptive and nonadaptive population divergence and speciation. Our results uncover cryptic species diversity and refine the borders of several threatened and endangered species. The US Endangered Species Act has been used to bring state regulation to unrestricted groundwater withdrawals in the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer, where listed species are found. However, the Trinity and Edwards–Trinity (Plateau) aquifers harbor additional species with similarly small ranges that currently receive no protection from regulatory programs designed to prevent groundwater depletion. Based on regional climate models that predict increased air temperature, together with hydrologic models that project decreased springflow, we conclude that Edwards–Trinity salamanders and other codistributed groundwater-dependent organisms are highly vulnerable to extinction within the next century.
Marginal Ulcer: Diagnosis and Treatment

Marginal ulcers, occurring on the intestinal aspect of gastrojejunal anastomoses, are seen in up to 16% of patients after gastric bypass, often within the first postoperative year. Marginal ulcers may be related to technical factors or to patient factors such as diabetes, smoking, alcohol use, and steroid or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use. Patients present with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, dysphagia, and hematemesis. A significant percent of patients may present with massive bleeding or perforation, despite having no prior symptoms. Endoscopy should be the first diagnostic step when it is suspected in non-emergent cases. Management is with proton pump inhibitors with or without sucralfate, removal of offending agents, and treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection if present. Surgical intervention is necessary in selected cases.
Proceedings of the 1st ACM SIGSPATIAL PhD Workshop

The ACM SIGSPATIAL Ph.D. Symposium is a forum where Ph.D. students present, discuss, and receive feedback on their research in a constructive atmosphere. The symposium will be attended by professors, researchers and practitioners in the ACM SIGSPATIAL community, who will participate actively and contribute to the discussions. The workshop is co-located with ACM SIGSPATIAL GIS 2014. The ACM SIGSPATIAL 2014 PhD Symposium provides an opportunity for doctoral students to explore and develop their research interests in the broad areas addressed by the ACM SIGSPATIAL community. We invite PhD students to submit a summary of their dissertation work to share their work with students in a similar situation as well as senior researchers in the field. We have two tracks for submission. The Junior PhD Track is for students who are in early stages of their doctoral studies. The submission should provide a clear problem definition, explain why it is important, survey related work, and summarize the new solutions that are pursued. The Senior PhD Track is for students who are close to completion (expected to graduate by 2014/2015). The submissions focused on describing the contribution they made in their doctoral dissertation. The strongest candidates are those who have a clear topic and research approach, and have made some progress, but who are not so far along that they can no longer make changes.
Active acoustic damage detection of structural cavities using internal acoustic excitations

A novel structural damage detection methodology that relies on the detectability of the changes in acoustic transmissibility across boundaries of structural cavities is investigated. The approach f...