cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SCALLA: A Platform for Scalable One-Pass Analytics Using MapReduce

Today’s one-pass analytics applications tend to be data-intensive in nature and require the ability to process high volumes of data efficiently. MapReduce is a popular programming model for processing large datasets using a cluster of machines. However, the traditional MapReduce model is not well-suited for one-pass analytics, since it is geared towards batch processing and requires the dataset to be fully loaded into the cluster before running analytical queries. This article examines, from a systems standpoint, what architectural design changes are necessary to bring the benefits of the MapReduce model to incremental one-pass analytics. Our empirical and theoretical analyses of Hadoop-based MapReduce systems show that the widely used sort-merge implementation for partitioning and parallel processing poses a fundamental barrier to incremental one-pass analytics, despite various optimizations. To address these limitations, we propose a new data analysis platform that employs hash techniques to enable fast in-memory processing, and a new frequent key based technique to extend such processing to workloads that require a large key-state space. Evaluation of our Hadoop-based prototype using real-world workloads shows that our new platform significantly improves the progress of map tasks, allows the reduce progress to keep up with the map progress, with up to 3 orders of magnitude reduction of internal data spills, and enables results to be returned continuously during the job.
Balancing Employee Religious Freedom in the Workplace with Customer Rights to a Religion‐free Retail Environment

In October of 2009, Trevor Keezer was terminated by Home Depot for refusing to remove a pin from his uniform declaring “One Nation under God, Indivisible.” Mr. Keezer, a cashier with Home Depot, contended that the button he had worn for over one year before any action was taken by his employer expressed his support for American troops and his Christian faith. Were the actions taken by his employer warranted or was Mr. Keezer the victim of arbitrary religious discrimination unrelated to job performance? Religion is becoming an increasingly polarizing issue in the workplace, forcing retail managers to balance the respective interests of employees, coworkers, and patrons of retail establishments. And from all indications, if legislation pending in Congress is enacted, maintaining the balance will become more problematic.
Positive Surgical Excision Margins of a Basal Cell Carcinoma

This case illustrates two strongly and diametrically opposed options advocated in the literature for dealing with positive surgical margins. The best plan is to individualize the decision-making process based on the available variables (histology, location of positive margins), the patient's age and health, and a "guided," but informed decision by the patient.
Bullous diseases in the elderly.

The elderly are prone to several autoimmune bullous diseases that have potentially significant morbidity. Complications of this group of diseases include chronic skin ulcers, skin infection, sepsis, and scarring of mucous membranes. The latter may result in blindness and stenosis of the esophagus and other mucous membranes. Histologic and immunofluorescence studies are essential in making the appropriate diagnosis. Treatment includes systemic corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs that may have potentially severe adverse effects.
Notable postnatal alterations in the myenteric plexus of normal human bowel

BACKGROUND—Nitric oxide is the most important transmitter in non-adrenergic non-cholinergic nerves in the human gastrointestinal tract. Impaired nitrergic innervation has been described in Hirschsprung's disease, hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, and intestinal neuronal dysplasia (IND). Recent findings indicate that hyperganglionosis, one of the major criteria of IND, is age dependent. However, information is scanty regarding the neurone density in normal human bowel in the paediatric age group. AIMS—To determine neurone density, morphology, and nitric oxide synthase distribution of the normal myenteric plexus at different ages during infancy and childhood. METHODS—Specimens were obtained from small bowel and colon in 20 children, aged one day to 15 years, at postmortem examination. Whole mount preparations were made of the myenteric plexus, which were subsequently stained using NADPH diaphorase histochemistry (identical to nitric oxide synthase) and cuprolinic blue (a general neuronal marker). The morphology of the myenteric plexus was described and the neurone density estimated. RESULTS—The myenteric plexus meshwork becomes less dense during the first years of life. The density of ganglion cells in the myenteric plexus decreases significantly with age during the first three to four years of life. The NADPH diaphorase positive (nitrergic) subpopulation represents about 34% of all neurones in the myenteric plexus. CONCLUSIONS—The notable decrease in neurone density in the myenteric plexus during the first years of life indicates that development is still an ongoing process in the postnatal enteric nervous system. Applied to the clinical situation, this implies that interpretation of enteric nervous system pathology is dependent on the age of the patient. Keywords: whole mount preparation; myenteric plexus; nitric oxide; neurone density; development; human
Two Routes to Influence: Integrating Leader-Member Exchange and Social Network Perspectives

We develop and test a model of the relational antecedents of members' influence in organizations that is based on an integration of leader-member exchange (LMX) and social network perspectives on individuals in organizations. We focus on how the relationships between LMX and members' centrality in the advice network and influence depend on two factors: the extent to which members share ties with their leaders in the organization's trust network, which we define as sponsorship, and the centrality of their leaders in the advice network. Our model seeks to explain how sponsorship and leaders' centrality shape the influence members gain by virtue of their LMX relationships and their centrality in advice networks. Longitudinal data gathered from two organizations, using survey and network measures, offer strong support for a nuanced model of the relational antecedents of influence. Both LMX and members' advice centrality are related to influence, but those relationships in turn depend on sponsorship and leader...
Age, Growth, and Mortality of the Little Skate off the Northeast Coast of the United States

Abstract Age, growth, mortality, and yield per recruit of the little skate Raja erinacea in the Georges Bank-Delaware Bay region were investigated from trawl-survey data collected during 1968–1978. Eight age groups were observed in the population. The parameters of the von Bertalanffy growth equation are asymptotic length L∞ = 52.73 cm; growth coefficient K = 0.352; and hypothetical age at zero length t0 = -0.449 years. The length-weight relationship for both sexes combined over seasons is log10W = -2.641 + 3.229 log10L, where length L is in centimeters and weight W is in grams. Estimates of total instantaneous mortality rates Z for fully recruited ages (age 5 and older) ranged from 0.54 to 1.76 between 1968 and 1978. Natural-mortality values M ranged from 0.4 to 0.5; fishing-mortality values F ranged from 0.14 to 1.36, depending on the value of M assumed. Received May 13, 1983 Accepted March 21, 1984
The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: What Is It and How Will It Change Health Care?

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed into legislation by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010, entails numerous provisions and proposals reforming health care. This chapter highlights (1) the history and rationale for how the PPACA came into legislation; (2) the various ways in which the PPACA hopes to expand accessible and affordable health insurance coverage to a greater number of Americans such as the Individual Mandate, expansion of Medicaid/SCHIPs, creation of the Exchanges, and implementing several changes in employer-sponsored health plans and private insurance plans; (3) changes to health insurance taxes intended to help fund this reform and attempt to contain costs in the future; and (4) how the PPACA seeks to improve to the quality of care that is delivered by placing a greater emphasis on preventive care, primary care, and long-term care.
Acute exercise exacerbates ischemia-induced diastolic rigor in hypertensive myocardium

Previous studies have shown that acute exercise preconditions the myocardium from ischemic injury. The purpose of this study was to test whether acute exercise protects the hypertensive myocardium from ischemia-induced diastolic rigor, and to compare the response between normotensive and uncompensated hypertensive hearts. Hearts harvested from female Wistar-Kyoto (WKY; n = 24) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR; n = 27) (age:10–12 weeks) were exposed to ischemia (Langendorff isovolumic preparation; 22 minutes of no flow ischemia and studied following prior conditions of: 1) no exercise (WKY-CON, n=8; SHR-CON, n=8); 2) ischemia initiated one hour post-acute exercise (WKY-1HR, n = 8; SHR-1HR, n = 11); and 3) ischemia initiated 24 hours post-acute exercise (WKY-24HR; n = 8; SHR-24HR, n = 8). Acute exercise consisted of one bout of treadmill running at 25 m/min for 60 minutes. Heart weight was similar between WKY and SHR despite elevated in vivo resting systolic blood pressure and rate pressure product in SHR (P<0.05). During normoxic perfusion, left ventricular (LV) Langendorff performance was similar between WKY and SHR over the post-exercise time course. However, during ischemia, LV diastolic rigor was less in WKY vs. SHR (P<0.05). Acute exercise augmented ischemia-induced LV dysfunction one hour post-exercise in SHR (P<0.05), with gradual recovery by 24 hours post-exercise. These data suggest that acute exercise promotes ischemic diastolic rigor in SHR, even prior to the development of cardiac hypertrophy.
Opportunistic multiuser scheduling in downlink TDMA MISO systems

We consider the problem of multiuser opportunistic fair scheduling (OFS) in downlink MISO systems employing beamforming. OFS is performed on a per scheduling interval basis to achieve fair bandwidth allocation. Transmit beamforming provides TDMA systems with the capability of supporting multiple concurrent transmissions. Since the optimal beamforming scheme can be calculated for a given subset of users, the scheduling problem then refers to the optimal user subset selection to maximize the system throughput subject to certain constraints. We propose two practical multiuser schedulers, and then present discrete stochastic approximation algorithms to select adaptively a better user subset. We also consider scenarios of time-varying channels where the algorithm can track the time-varying optimum. We present results to show the performance of the proposed algorithms in terms of fast convergence, time-varying tracking capability and fairness.
FORECLOSURES, INVESTORS, AND UNEVEN DEVELOPMENT DURING THE GREAT RECESSION IN THE LOS ANGELES METROPOLITAN AREA

ABSTRACT:In the wake of the U.S. housing crisis, what has happened to the substantial stock of foreclosed or real estate–owned (REO) properties is only beginning to be understood. The eventual outc...
Un ejercicio en biodiversidad. algunos microhongos tropicales de la litera foliar (Tanzania, Africa)

En un viaje por algunas regiones de Tanzania (Marzo de1999), desde las llanuras costeras a las zonas altas de 1ringa, se recolectaron 14 muestras de diverso material de la litera foliar y otros sustratos vegetales senescentes, con la finalidad de analizar a nivel de genero y especie (cuando fuere posible) y bajo condiciones de camara humeda, la presencia de microhongos tropicales. En todas las muestras se detectaron 419 taxa, de los cuales 368 pudieron clasificarse y repartirse en 81 generos y 142 especies. En 51, no fue posible llegar a una identificacion por falta de informacion, a pesar que un buen porcentaje de ellos representaron taxa similares. De los clasificados, 47 correspondieron a Hyphomycetes (58,02%),18 a Coelomycetes (22,22%), 13 a Ascomycetes (16,04%) y 3 a Zygomycetes (3,70 %). Doce fueron los taxa dominantes con el 24,34% de la presencia total en las muestras y 18 los frecuentes con el 22, 19%, los restantes fueron esporadicos. Los generos mas representativos en presencia y variedad de especies fueron: Phoma, Fusarium, Bipolaris, Curvularia, Myrothecium, Pellicillium, Altemaria y Aspergillus . Se concluye que nuestros resultados, considerados preliminares debido a lo complejo de nuestra labor, permitieron un interesante ejercicio en biodiversidad (fungica, con aportes informativos y formativos necesarios en la rutina del micologo.
Effects of a nutritional deficiency of unsaturated fats on the distribution of fatty acids in rat liver mitochondrial phospholipids

The fatty acid composition of liver mitochondrial phospholipids from rats rendered deficient in essential unsaturated fatty acids has been determined, and compared with that of rats fed a diet containing corn oil. In addition to marked reductions in the amounts of linoleic and arachidonic acids esterified at the β-position of ethanolamine-, inositol-, and choline glycerophosphatides, the deficiency resulted in extensive changes in the distribution of saturated acids at both the α- and β-positions. Palmitoleic and oleic acids were increased in amount in fat deficiency, and large amounts of docosatrienoic acids appeared in these three phospholipids. The fatty acids of the sphingomyelins were not altered as a result of essential fatty acid deficiency. The data demonstrate that each phospholipid is unique in the way in which its fatty acid moieties change in response to feeding a fat deficient diet.
The Need for Empirical Data for the Design of Aircraft Structures

PROGRESS in any art requires that current practice and previous experience be reviewed at intervals so that the reasons for the success of certain procedures and the failure of others may be determined. In a young art the reasons may not always be established correctly but theories may be developed and new processes worked out to be checked by subsequent experience. Without such theories it is hopeless to attempt extrapolation or expansion so that progress must be limited to interpolation or to improvement of detail within a circumscribed field of action. Such limited progress is undesirable in an art as young as the design of aircraft structures, but it is equally undesirable that too rapid progress be made by using theories or procedures which are based on reasoning alone, with no background of experience to justify such assumptions as may be made. Rationalization of processes should keep abreast of experience, theories should keep abreast of test data but where life is at stake, as it is in an improperly designed structure, dependence should not be placed upon theories which have not been checked, in part at least, by empirical data. While it is obvious that inanimate materials cannot develop reasoning powers so that they may appreciate and conform to the assumptions made by the designing engineer, this point appears to be overlooked frequently and structures are often expected to conform with assumptions or conditions which simplify the solution of mathematical equations rather than with the natural limitations of the materials themselves. The results are, of course, disappointing, sometimes because the structure is unsafe, sometimes because it is unduly heavy. Consider, briefly, some of these results by comparing actual test data with the indications of theory. A plot of the readily available data on the crushing strength of corrugated aluminum alloy sheet, 17 ST, 24 ST, and alclad of the 24SRT alloy, yields the curves shown in Fig. 1. The 24 ST alloy, with its higher yield point, develops a higher crushing stress than the 17 ST and the test values lie practically on the same curve as the 24 ST alclad. The third curve in the figure represents the expression for the critical stress given on page 382 of Timoshenko's "Theory of Elastic Stability/' with coefficients based on the standard corrugation having a pitch to depth ratio of 3.33. The expression, originally * ' • #
Biaxial calcite inverted from aragonite

We have recently extended the phase relationships involving a liquid phase in the system CaO-CO_2-H_2O from 4 kilobars pressure (Wyllie and Tuttle, 1960; Wyllie and Raynor, 1965) to 40 kilobars pressure (to be published). Under appropriate conditions the phase assemblage calcite+liquid+vapor undergoes a transition to aragonite+liquid+vapor. Published data indicate that the calcite-aragonite transition curve should intersect the ternary univariant solidus curve at about 580°C at a pressure between 11.5 and 13 kilobars. At temperatures above 600°C, BeIl and England (1964) concluded that the aragonite which formed stably within a wide pressure interval inverted to calcite during the quench. Thus, quenching problems have apparently contributed to the conflicting reports for the position of the calcite-aragonite phase transition. Examination of the morphology of the carbonate in the quenched assemblage CaCO_3+liquid+vapor suggested a method for locating the calcite-aragonite transition boundary regardless of the polymorphic changes that may occur during the quench.
Corral Trapping of Single Molecules in Electrolyte Solution: Theory and Experiment

The corral trap is a simple, electrostatic setup for capturing charged molecules such as ssDNA in dilute electrolyte solution. We will present experiments demonstrating its use and discuss the underlying trapping mechanism using theoretical modeling.
Optical Switches and Memories Using the Zeno Effect and Two-Photon Absorption

Here we show that a classical version of the quantum Zeno effect can occur in a resonant system subject to nonlinear dissipation, and that this effect can be used to implement classical logic devices.
Criteria for identifying a myelin-like fraction from developing brain (Short Communication)

Multiple criteria must be used to relate a membrane fraction (;myelin-like') to myelin. These reported in this communication are electron microscopy, marker enzymes, sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoretic patterns and lipid composition.
SULFHYDRYL AND DISULFIDE GROUPS OF PROTEINS : I. METHODS OF ESTIMATION.

1. Methods have been described for reducing protein S-S groups, for oxidizing protein SH groups, and for estimating protein S-S and SH groups. 2. It has been found necessary in estimating the cystine content of proteins by the Folin-Marenzi method to take into account any cysteine that may be present. 3. A method for estimating the cysteine content of proteins has been described. 4. With these methods, estimations have been made of the S-S and SH groups and of the cystine and cysteine contents of a number of proteins. 5. In a denatured, but unhydrolyzed protein, the number of S-S and SH groups is equivalent to the quantity of cystine and cysteine found in the protein after hydrolysis.
Effects of residual and reapplied biosolids on performance and mineral status of grazing beef steers.

An experiment was designed to assess the mineral status of 60 Angus yearling beef steers grazing bahiagrass pastures fertilized with large amounts of biosolids from three sources: Baltimore, MD; Tampa, FL; and Largo, FL. Biosolids were classified as exceptional quality and thus had no regulatory restrictions on loading rate. They differed primarily in concentration of Mo (12 to 56 mg/kg of DM). Residual treatments (biosolids applied only the previous year) for Baltimore biosolids were applied at 22.4 and 44.8 t/ha, and Tampa biosolids were either 16.8 or 33.6 t/ ha. The reapplied treatments (applied in consecutive years) for both Baltimore and Tampa sludges were applied at 22.4, 44.8, 16.8 , and 33.6 t/ha, respectively. The two Largo biosolids treatments were either 56 or 112 t/ha and were applied only in the 2nd yr. Liver biopsies and blood samples were collected on d 1, 95, and 180. Liver and plasma were analyzed for minerals and blood was analyzed for hemoglobin, hematocrit, and superoxide dismutase of polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Experimental animals were generally adequate in macromineral status and Co, Fe, and Mn throughout the experiment. Copper deficiency was evident based on the clinical signs of hair coat discoloration, very low plasma Cu at d 95, and the continuous decline in liver Cu over 180 d. A sharp decline in plasma Cu was observed for all treatments from d 1 to 95, after which Cu concentrations rebounded to normal concentrations (> 0.65 microg/mL) by d 180. Liver Mo was well below concentrations indicating toxicity (> 5.0 mg/kg). The steep decline in liver Cu over the first 95 d reflects the dietary Cu deficiency and the possibility of high forage S (0.26 to 0.52%) interfering with Cu metabolism. Biosolids application to bahiagrass pastures was not detrimental to mineral status except for declining Cu stores; however, the controls likewise declined, but to a lesser degree.
Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a nonglycosylated protein produced in Escherichia coli using recombinant DNA technology. G-CSF was first defined in vitro as a relatively selective stimulator of pure granulocyte colonies from normal marrow and as a factor that induces differentiation of leukemic cell lines. Additional studies have shown that it has significant effects on primitive marrow stem cells as well as on the differentiated cells of the granulocyte-macrophage pathway enhancing phagocytosis, superoxide release, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and migration of both neutrophils and monocytes. The most extensively studied clinical application of G-CSF has been in chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression, where it was shown to reduce the duration of severe neutropenia, the incidence of febrile neutropenic episodes, the overall duration of intravenous antibiotic therapy, and the length of hospitalization. G-CSF has also been shown to correct primary and acquired forms of neutropenia, to accelerate neutrophil recovery after bone marrow transplantation, and to mobilize stem cells in peripheral blood or hemopoietic rescue. G-CSF is well tolerated, mild to moderate bone pain being the most frequently reported adverse side effect. The clinical applications of G-CSF are likely to expand as more information emerges from continuing clinical trials.
Hydrocarbon bio-jet fuel from bioconversion of poplar biomass: techno-economic assessment

Infrastructure compatible hydrocarbon biofuel proposed to qualify as renewable transportation fuel under the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) is evaluated. The process uses a hybrid poplar feedstock, which undergoes dilute acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Sugars are fermented to acetic acid, which undergoes conversion to ethyl acetate, ethanol, ethylene, and finally a saturated hydrocarbon end product. An unfermentable lignin stream may be burned for steam and electricity production, or gasified to produce hydrogen. During biofuel production, hydrogen gas is required and may be obtained by various methods including lignin gasification. Both technical and economic aspects of the biorefinery are analyzed, with different hydrogen sources considered including steam reforming of natural gas and gasification of lignin. Cash operating costs for jet fuel production are estimated to range from 0.67 to 0.86 USD L−1 depending on facility capacity. Minimum fuel selling prices with a 15 % discount rate are estimated to range from 1.14 to 1.79 USD L−1. Capacities of 76, 190, and 380 million liters of jet fuel per year are investigated. Capital investments range from 356 to 1026 million USD. A unique biorefinery is explored to produce a hydrocarbon biofuel with a high yield from bone dry wood of 330 L t−1. This yield is achieved chiefly due to the use of acetogenic bacteria that do not produce carbon dioxide as a co-product during fermentation. Capital investment is significant in the biorefinery in part because hydrogen is required to produce a fully de-oxygenated fuel. Minimum selling price to achieve reasonable returns on investment is sensitive to capital financing options because of high capital costs. Various strategies, such as producing alternative, intermediate products, are investigated with the intent to reduce risk in building the proposed facility. It appears that producing and selling these intermediates may be more profitable than converting all the biomass into aviation fuel. With variability in historical petroleum prices and environmental subsidies, a high internal rate of return would be required to attract investors.
FROM OZONE TO THE PEPTIDE LINKAGE

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the genealogy and the energy levels of peptide linkage. The extraction of a proton from the central oxygen of ozone produces nitrite ion; extraction of another proton from the N-atom of NO2− generates formate ion. The variations from member to member of the precursor series of isoelectronic molecules which terminate in peptide consist of two types. Nuclear deprotonations reduce the nuclear potential supplied by the center in question. These reductions cause electrons to be less-tightly bound to such a center and produce spectroscopic consequences which are readily predictable. The deprotonation which leaves the detached proton chemically affixed to the center from which it was extracted, ties up two sigma electrons which were previously readily excitable. The phosphorescence of proteins is usually dominated by that of tryptophan, tyrosine and phenylalanine.
THE RELATIONSHIP OF GENE STRUCTURE TO PROTEIN STRUCTURE

ABSTRACT The cloning and sequencing of genes of proteins whose structure is known allows a comparison of the localization of intervening sequences with the structural features of the proteins. In some instances, the intron positions seem to demarcate structural and/or functional units, but in others, there is no obvious relationship between the protein and gene structure. Comparison with tertiary structures indicates that the intron positions in the gene correspond to the external boundary rather than the interior of the protein. This localization is confirmed by a solvent accessible surface analysis which shows that the intron junctions are almost always located at the protein-solvent interface. While the surface rule is based on observations of a few relatively small globular proteins with known tertiary structure, it is further supported by the observation that the consensus sequences at the 5′ (but not the 3′) intron/exon splice junctions predominantly code for hydrophilic and surface type amino acids. These results suggest that intron placements may have played a role in protein evolution. For example, intron junctions may be sites of hypervariability and hence of structural change. If so, such junctions would be better accommodated on the surface, rather than the interior where changes would likely result in distortion or destruction of the architecture of the molecule. Consistent with these ideas, certain evolutionary variations in the serine protease family appear to correlate with intron location. Experimental studies on the expression of the human insulin gene in heterologous mammalian cells using SV40 viral vectors show that the normal splicing can occur, but that an alternative splice site, completely within the gene, is used in certain SV40 constructions. The 3′-extragenic region appears to be the controlling factor for recruitment of the alternate site. The transcript produced from the alternate site codes for a protein that is identical to insulin at the N terminus but is completely different at the C terminal region because of a frame shift caused by the new splice. This result may serve as a model in illustrating how variations in gene splicing may generate genetic diversity as seen in the serine proteases.
The Paradoxes of Confirmation

It is easy to resolve a contradiction. All you have to do is reject or reconfigure one of the premises of the argument that leads to it. What makes paradoxes so difficult to resolve is that the assumptions that generate them are so intuitive that they resist rejection or reconfiguration. The “paradoxes of confirmation” have been especially difficult to resolve. As much is indicated by the vast literature to which they have given rise. The “raven” and “grue” paradoxes are associated with, and often thought to cause problems for, the so-called “positive instance” account of confirmation. The “old evidence” paradox arises in connection with traditional Bayesian accounts of confirmation and, in the minds of some, is a decisive objection to it. These two accounts differ in a number of important ways. What they share is the assumption that the notions of confirmation and evidence are inter-definable, an assumption so deeply embedded that it has altogether escaped notice. Our object in this chapter is to show, once again, why confirmation and evidence should be distinguished, this time because their conflation is one root of the paradoxes. The work done by many others on the paradoxes, much of it technical, has thrown a great deal of light on our inductive practices. In providing a unified, if admittedly rather general treatment of them, we hope to indicate a new direction for this work.
Assessing the capability of massively parallel sequencing for opportunistic pharmacogenetic screening

The aim of the study was to assess exome data for preemptive pharmacogenetic screening for 203 clinically relevant pharmacogenetic variant positions from the Pharmacogenomics Knowledgebase and Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium and identify copy-number variants (CNVs) in CYP2D6. We examined the coverage and genotype quality of 203 pharmacogenetic variant positions in 973 exomes compared with five genomes and with five genotyping chip data sets. Then, we determined the agreement of exome and chip genotypes by evaluating concordance in a three-way comparison of exome, genome, and chip-based genotyping at 1,929 variant positions in five individuals. Finally, we evaluated the utility of exomes for detecting CYP2D6 CNVs. For 5 individuals examined for 203 pharmacogenetic variants (5 × 203 = 1,015), 998/1,015 were identified by genome, 849/1,015 were identified by exome, and 295/1,015 by genotyping chip. Thirty-six pharmacogenetic star allele variants with moderate to strong Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) therapeutic recommendations were identified in 973 exomes. Exomes had high (98%) genotype concordance with chip-based genotyping. CYP2D6 CNVs were identified in 57/973 exomes. Exomes outperformed the current chip-based assay in detecting more important pharmacogenetic variant positions and CYP2D6 CNVs for preemptive pharmacogenetic screening. Tools should be developed to derive pharmacogenetic variants from exomes. Genet Med 19 3, 357–361.
Partition Volume Variability in Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction Methods: Polydispersity Causes Bias but Can Improve Precision

The role of partition volume variability, or polydispersity, in digital polymerase chain reaction methods is examined through formal considerations and Monte Carlo simulations. Contrary to intuition, polydispersity causes little precision loss for low average copy number per partition μ and can actually improve precision when μ exceeds ∼4. It does this by negatively biasing the estimates of μ, thus increasing the number of negative (null) partitions N0. In keeping with binomial statistics, this increases the relative precision of N0 and hence of the biased estimate m of μ. Below μ = 1, the precision loss and the bias are both small enough to be negligible for many applications. For higher μ the bias becomes more important than the imprecision, making accuracy dependent on knowledge of the partition volume distribution function. This information can be gained with optical microscopy or through calibration with reference materials.
Lactic Acid, pH and Bacterial Values of Dry Fermented Salami Containing Mechanically Deboned Beef and Structured Soy Protein Fiber1

Various combinations of mechanically deboned beef (MOB) and structured soy protein fiber (SSPF) were used at 15 and 30% levels in formulation of dry fermented salami. Lactic acid, pH and bacterial assessments were conducted at 24-h intervals during the pan-curing stage and at 15-day intervals during the 60-day drying period. The substitution of MDB or SSPF in the 11 separate salami treatments had no effect upon pH, lactic acid content or growth of various bacteria. Bacterial evaluation included determination of total aerobic plate counts, Lactobacillus , Staphylococcus and psychrotrophic bacteria. Lactic acid content and pH values were within ranges typical for dry fermented salami. Lactic acid content increased as a function of increased Lactobacillus numbers resulting in lowered pH values. Total aerobic plate and psychrotrophic numbers paralleled to some degree the Lactobacillus counts over the entire study. A low incidence of non-mannitol fermenting-coagulase positive Staphylococcus was observed. It would appear that MOB and SSPF can be successfully substituted at elevated levels in dry fermented salami from a microbiological standpoint, while not interfering in lactic acid production needed for flavor and preservation.
THE ROLE OF DIASTOLIC STRESS TESTING IN THE EVALUATION FOR HEART FAILURE WITH PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION: AN INVASIVE-ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC STUDY

Background: Diagnosis of heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is challenging and relies largely on demonstration of elevated cardiac filling pressures (PCWP). Current guidelines recommend use of natriuretic peptides (NT-proBNP) and rest/exercise echocardiography (E/e’ ratio
Demographic and insurance-based disparities in diagnosis of stage IV cervical cancer: A population-based analysis using NCDB.

e17589 Background: The stage of cervical cancer strongly influences the prognosis. This is the largest epidemiological study to examine the demographic and insurance characteristics of patients dia...
Screening for colorectal cancer.

Case study: N.P., a 51-year-old man, comes to your office because one of his friends was recently diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He is wondering whether he should be screened too.
The Geography of Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children in Minnesota, 2007-2015

This article provides a snapshot of the geographic patterns of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors' court cases and the affected communities in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The regional distributions of cases seen in court dealing with solicitation, inducement and promotion of prostitution, solicitation of children to engage in sexual conduct and use of a minor in a sexual performance are compared here. According to the visual examination of the thematic maps and the spatial statistics analyses, the greatest clustering for any of the offenses potentially related to sexual exploitation and trafficking is for cases that involve solicitation, inducement and promotion of prostitution. These clusters are located in Minnesota's major metropolitan areas and transportation hubs. The maps and the spatial statistics dealing with solicitation of a child to engage in sexual conduct and the use of a minor in a sexual performance are less likely to display clusters of cases in metropolitan areas and transportation hubs. In the majority of cases the patterns are random. Based on news reports and the thematic maps' patterns, the Internet has become a centrifugal force that has maintained a considerable number of child solicitation cases happening outside metropolitan areas traditionally linked to other sex crimes such as prostitution.
Cultural Evolution: Ethnogenesis

As concept and theory, ‘ethnogenesis’ has had several periods of florescence in social science. The earliest was in nineteenth-century France, when French historians undertook to refute the racial histories of German scholars such as Gobineau. In the twentieth century, ethnogenetic scholars likewise responded to Nazi allegations about the origins of the Rus and other Soviet peoples by writing their own histories of European peoples. Soviet anthropologists after World War II took a special interest in the origins and interactions among Soviet minorities in Siberia and Central Asia. Other periods of ethnogenetic scholarship were in Central Europe after World War II, among anthropologists in the United States at the present time, and several times in the field of sociology. Although some ethnogeneticists are entirely humanistic in their methods, some, especially ethnohistorians, are interested in discovering general principles underlying ethnogenetic processes, and articulating a description of these processes with general theories of evolution.
Disciplines, Boundaries, and Bridges

I can imagine numerous metaphors to describe the practice of dividing curriculum content into disciplines.
Annotated Bibliography on Evaluation of Research, 1985–1990

This annotated bibliography contains relevant literature on research evaluation appearing after 1985. It covers work published in journals and government documents. There are 147 listings.
The Role of Plasmodesmata in the Electrotonic Transmission of Action Potentials

The mounting evidence for the transmission of action potentials from cell to cell in a range of plants has exposed our lack of knowledge concerning the mechanism of transmission. While variation potentials (also known as slow wave potentials) involve chemicals released from damaged tissues and/or associated hydrodynamic changes, there is little or no evidence for the involvement of chemicals in the intercellular transmission of action potentials in plants. Plasmodesmata provide electrical connections between plant cells, as demonstrated by experiments in which current injected into one cell can produce a change in potential in a neighboring cell (electrical coupling). The evidence available to date supports a mechanism for electrotonic coupling of cells in transmission of action potentials rather than a direct transmission of excitation along the plasma membranes in the plasmodesmatal pores.
A Novel Blockchain-based Education Records Verification Solution

This paper proposes a novel blockchain-based technique for creating an environment where individuals can be the custodians of their official education records and can easily share those records with others. A blockchain is a digitized, decentralized, open record of all cryptographic data exchanges. One key characteristic of the blockchain is its decentralized nature. Unlike records or accounts maintained by department, college, university, government agencies and other institutions, the blockchain does not require an intermediary to complete education records or alter records. Our solution incorporating the advanced features of blockchain allows education providers to issue official certificates that supply proof of completion or achievement. The proposed framework could also provide the corresponding functions for the after-college education and many other further usages.
A Power and Area Efficient 2.5-16 Gbps Gen4 PCIe PHY in 10nm FinFET CMOS

This paper presents a 2.5-16 Gbps Gen4 PCIe transceiver with 3-tap Tx EQ, and 8-tap Rx DFE in a 10nm FinFET CMOS technology. A low latency digital CDR is designed supporting a flexible timing recovery scheme. The CDR uses a 3-stage ring DCO, with a low-noise cascaded NMOS voltage regulator to provide 40dB PSRR with an operating temperature range from -40C to 12SC. A senary-weighted hybrid C-DAC in the DCO achieves a monotonic fine tuning characteristic with a measured DNL of 0.3 LSB. The power efficiency is 7.5pJ/b, with the smallest reported footprint of 129.6x945.0 urn2 per link.
Using an Augmented Reality–Based Teaching Strategy to Teach Mathematics to Secondary Students With Disabilities:

A basic understanding of math, numeracy, and related concepts are critical skills for functioning independently in society. Individuals with disabilities often struggle with basic math, which imped...
A Regularized Quadratic Programming Approach to Real-Time Scheduling of Autonomous Mobile Robots in a Prioritized Task Space

The use of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) for fast and efficient manufacturing has attracted the interest of academia and industry in recent times, especially due to significant improvements in computational efficiency. However, one of the biggest challenges in terms of controls is the optimal task assignment and scheduling of AMRs in order to finish the assigned tasks as quickly as possible, taking into account the priority of the tasks. This paper focuses on the single-AMR scheduling problem, i.e., once each AMR is assigned a set of tasks, the objective is to order these tasks efficiently while considering task priorities. The need for real-time algorithms to solve this problem renders exhaustive search algorithms inappropriate, since their focus is on the accuracy of the solution without considering time constraints. This paper proposes a gradient-based real-time approach for the scheduling problem based on a mathematical formulation in the structure of a regularized quadratic program. This scheduling algorithm is shown to perform better than a simulated annealing based pairwise exchange technique, which is a commonly used heuristic method, in terms of a defined cost metric. Therefore, the proposed algorithm allows for the generation of efficient realtime solutions to the scheduling problem for a single AMR.
Models of Additivity for Sugar Sweetness

Observers judged the sweetness of nine different sugars mixed at different concentrations either with glucose or with fructose. Power functions fitted to the sweetness of unmixed sugars were modified to yield two alternate predictors of mixture sweetness: (I) Summation of concentrations or (II) Summation of perceived sweetnesses. Model I and Model II were both appropriate for mixtures with glucose, whereas only Model II appeared appropriate for mixtures with fructose. Both models systematically underpredicted mixture sweetness, suggesting synergistic effects that extend beyond simple additivity. The studies illustrate the use of direct ratio scaling of taste intensity to suggest and to test alternate ways by which the taste system processes mixtures.
Coronary Vasospasm-Induced Myocardial Infarction: An Uncommon Presentation of Unrecognized Hyperthyroidism.

Hyperthyroidism can present with cardiac issues, such as tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, and high output congestive heart failure. Rare case reports of coronary vasospasm leading to myocardial infarction (MI) are published. Of these cases, many are known to be hyperthyroid prior to cardiac presentation. We report a female patient with unrecognized thyrotoxicosis who presents with acute MI secondary to coronary vasospasm. J Med Cases. 2020;11(5):140-141 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3473
Parameters Influencing Fluidity of UHPC and Their Effect on Mechanical and Durability Properties

AbstractA number of parameters can influence the fluidity of an ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) mix and, hence, its viability for use in construction. These parameters include the carbon cont...
Effects of Ethnicity on Ovarian Stimulation and Fertility Preservation

Approximately 12.1% of women aged 15–44 years old suffer from infertility or decreased fecundity according to the National Health Statistics Report 2013 (Chandra et al., Natl Health Stat Rep 1–18, 11 p). Only about half of the women diagnosed with infertility, 6.9% of women ages 15–44, reported ever using any assisted reproductive services. Many have criticized assisted reproductive technology (ART) as a medical option for only a privileged minority of women. The biggest barrier to ART is cost (Katz et al., Fertil Steril 95:915–921, 2011). In addition to financial obstacles, there may be geographical barriers. A recent cross-sectional study found that geographic access is limited or absent for more than 25 million women of reproductive age in the USA.
Vitriolage by Sulfuric Acid: Unique Challenges and Considerations in Patient Resuscitation.

Abstract Background In the United States, over 1 million burns require medical treatment each year. Chemical burns represent an infrequent but devastating percentage of all burns, which account for a large proportion of all burn-related deaths. Of the various causes of chemical burns, sulfuric acid is most commonly involved in occupational and accidental burns, and even cases of assault. Case Report We describe the case of a 27-year-old man who presented to our Emergency Department (ED) after an assault with sulfuric acid. During his presentation, particular attention and care was given to his decontamination, airway management, and correction of life-threatening metabolic derangements. After stabilization in the ED he survived an extensive hospital admission. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Patient outcomes and prognosis after chemical burns are dependent on prompt recognition/suspicion and rapid initiation of treatment. Even with prompt treatment, severe physiologic and psychologic injuries often afflict the patient. While encountering these devastating injuries, the emergency physician must carry a heightened sense of care and protection for both patient and staff to ensure optimum outcomes.
Quantum criticality and the α/δ puzzle

In an overview of the elemental actinides, Np and Pu stand out due to their anomalously low melting temperatures and the variety of complex phase transitions that occur in these elements and their alloys as a result of relatively modest changes in temperature and pressure. In this paper, we suggest a novel explanation based on an analogy between the evolution of the actinide ground state as a function of spin-orbit coupling and the behaviour of thin film superconductors in a magnetic field. The key point is that, in metals with a low carrier density, spin-orbit interactions give rise to low energy monopole-like solitons with quantised spin currents, which play much the same role as Abrikosov vortices in thin film superconductors. In Np and alpha-Pu, these solitons form an ordered solid, while, in impurity stabilised delta-Pu, they form a pair condensate. This provides a simple explanation for the heretofore unexplained phenomenology of alpha-delta transition. Near room temperature delta-Pu represents a no...