cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accidental alignments-an approach to qualitative vision

A novel approach to building qualitative models for vision based on the functionally relevant attributes of each object is presented. The spatial discretization used is derived systematically, and is complete under the conditions of tangency, no-contact, and overlap. Each object is decomposed into simpler qualitative generalized cylinders, and the join operations are specified by a new three-dimensional qualitative model for space. Results are shown for applications in two and three dimensions. >
Tool-assisted unit-test generation and selection based on operational abstractions

Unit testing, a common step in software development, presents a challenge. When produced manually, unit test suites are often insufficient to identify defects. The main alternative is to use one of a variety of automatic unit-test generation tools: these are able to produce and execute a large number of test inputs that extensively exercise the unit under test. However, without a priori specifications, programmers need to manually verify the outputs of these test executions, which is generally impractical. To reduce this cost, unit-test selection techniques may be used to help select a subset of automatically generated test inputs. Then programmers can verify their outputs, equip them with test oracles, and put them into the existing test suite. In this paper, we present the operational violation approach for unit-test generation and selection, a black-box approach without requiring a priori specifications. The approach dynamically generates operational abstractions from executions of the existing unit test suite. These operational abstractions guide test generation tools to generate tests to violate them. The approach selects those generated tests violating operational abstractions for inspection. These selected tests exercise some new behavior that has not been exercised by the existing tests. We implemented this approach by integrating the use of Daikon (a dynamic invariant detection tool) and Parasoft Jtest (a commercial Java unit testing tool), and conducted several experiments to assess the approach.
X-Linked Ectodermal Dysplasia in the Dog

A male German shepherd pup had symmetrical areas of hairlessness as well as missing and misshapen teeth. There was no family history of a similar phenotype. In biopsies of the hairless skin and foot pads there were no hair follicles, adnexal structures, or eccrine glands. These findings resemble those in ectodermal dysplasia in the Tabby mouse and anhidrotic/hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) in man, which are both X-linked recessive disorders and thought to be homologous gene defects. While similar cases of ectodermal dysplasia have been reported in the dog and some genetic studies carried out, definitive confirmation of X-linked inheritance of canine ectodermal dysplasia is lacking. Family studies and experimental matings using the propositus gave results that confirm X-linked recessive inheritance. On statistical grounds, it is concluded that ED in the propositus is due to a new mutation. A colony of dogs with this mutation is maintained for further study.
Human polyomaviruses 6 and 7 are not detectable in Merkel cell polyomavirus-negative Merkel cell carcinoma.

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) has a high degree of association with Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). However, no reliable microscopic, clinical, phenotypic or molecular differences have been identified that distinguish MCPyV-positive from MCPyV-negative MCC, raising the possibility that a related polyomavirus may be present in MCPyV-negative cases. Recently, two additional human polyomaviruses, human polyomaviruses 6 and 7 (HPyV6 and HPyV7), were shown to be present in normal skin of healthy subjects along with MCPyV. Consequently, we sought to determine if the presence of HPyV6 of HPyV7 could account for MCPyV-negative MCC. Methods: DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of 28 previously characterized MCC cases that included 22 MCPyV-positive and 6 MCPyV-negative samples. Real-time polymerase chain reaction targeting three viral regions was used to detect HPyV6 and HPyV7. Results: None of the 28 MCC cases, which included both MCPyV-positive and negative cases, showed amplifiable HPyV6 or HPyV7 DNA. Conclusions: While MCPyV, HPyV6, and HPyV7 are part of normal skin flora and show a high degree of sequence similarity, there is no evidence of an association between HPyV6 and HPyV7 and MCC in this case series. This result argues against a role for HPyV6 and HPyV7 in the pathogenesis of MCPyV-negative MCC. Duncavage EJ, Pfeifer JD. Human polyomaviruses 6 and 7 are not detectable in Merkel cell polyomavirus-negative Merkel cell carcinoma.
NULEX: An Open-License Broad Coverage Lexicon

Broad coverage lexicons for the English language have traditionally been handmade. This approach, while accurate, requires too much human labor. Furthermore, resources contain gaps in coverage, contain specific types of information, or are incompatible with other resources. We believe that the state of open-license technology is such that a comprehensive syntactic lexicon can be automatically compiled. This paper describes the creation of such a lexicon, NU-LEX, an open-license feature-based lexicon for general purpose parsing that combines WordNet, VerbNet, and Wiktionary and contains over 100,000 words. NU-LEX was integrated into a bottom up chart parser. We ran the parser through three sets of sentences, 50 sentences total, from the Simple English Wikipedia and compared its performance to the same parser using Comlex. Both parsers performed almost equally with NU-LEX finding all lex-items for 50% of the sentences and Comlex succeeding for 52%. Furthermore, NULEX's shortcomings primarily fell into two categories, suggesting future research directions.
Solubility of Silica in Nitric Acid Solutions

The solubility and solution rates of porous glass and silica gel in nitric acid solutions at 95°, 65°, and 36° C. were determined. The solubility depends on the acid concentration, decreasing with increasing strength of free HNO3 in accordance with the following equation: log C = -aN - b, where C is the silica solubility, N is the acid normality, and a and b are empirical constants. The rate of solution of silica depends on acid concentration, the initial rate being a maximum at about 0.8 N. The amount of silica dissolved is a function of time and acid concentration. For short periods of time (1 to 40 hours) a maximum amount of silica is dissolved in about 0.8 N HNO3. For long periods of time this maximum is at 0.1 N or less. A curve showing the decrease in silica solubility with temperature in water is included.
Infrared studies of polymer chain folding I. Linear polyethylene

An infrared method has been developed for studying folding in linear polyethylene utilizing the assignment of the 1350 cm−1 and 1304 cm−1 bands to gauche methylene units. Gauche methylenes can occur in the disordered regions or as a part of the fold; their absorption coefficients are different in the two regions and allow one to determine their contribution to each region by simultaneous solution of the absorbance equations. The results indicate the fold structure of slow-cooled bulk polyethylene is essentially the same as the folds of solution crystallized polyethylene and no disordered regions containing gauche methylenes exist. Rapidly cooled samples contain gauche methylenes in anomalous structures which tend to disappear during annealing. Annealing at 120°C. produces no change in the fold structure of single crystals. Zur Untersuchung des Phanomens der Kettenfaltung in unverzweigtem Polyathylen wurde eine IR-Methode entwickelt, die auf der Zuordnung der 1350- und 1304-cm−1-Banden zu Methylengruppen in gauche-Konformation basiert. Diese Struktur kann sowohl in ungeordneten Bereichen als auch in den Faltungsbogen auftreten; da jedoch die Absorptionskoeffizienten in beiden Fallen versehieden sind, lassen sich die Anteile in jedem Bereich durch Losung der Absorptionsgleichungen ermitteln. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, das in langsam abgekabltem, schmelzkristallisiertem Polyathylen im wesentlichen die gleiche Faltungsstruktur vorliegt wie in losungskristallisiertem Material und das keine ungeordneten Methylengruppen in gauche-Konformation enthaltenden Bereichen auftreten. Schnell abgekuhlte Proben enthalten solche Methylengruppen in anomalen Strukturen, welche jedoch wahrend des Temperns verschwind. Durch Tempern bei 120°C last sich keine Anderung der Faltungsstruktur bei Einkristallen erreichen.
Resolving Intralocus Sexual Conflict: Genetic Mechanisms and Time Frame

Intralocus sexual conflict occurs due to the expression of sexually antagonistic alleles: those that increase fitness when expressed in one sex but decrease fitness when expressed in the other sex. This genetic conflict is expected whenever the sexes are selected toward differing phenotypic optima for a trait that has a positive genetic correlation between the sexes. Here we synthesize recent developments in the areas of genomics, microarray analysis, and developmental and molecular genetics to establish feasible mechanisms by which the intersexual genetic correlation can be reduced, as well as the time course over which conflict resolution is expected to evolve.
Solution of a nonlinear heat equation with arbitrarily given blow-up points

We consider the equation where I ⊂ ℝ u is scalar-valued and p > 1. It has been proven that if u(t) blows up at time T, the blow-up points are finite in number and located in I°. Our aim is to prove that this result is optimal. That is, for any given points x1,…,xk in I° there is a solution u such that its blow-up points are exactly x1,…,xk.
Women Writing Art History in the Nineteenth Century

Hilary Fraser's study of nineteenth-century women's art writings offers fascinating observations across fiction, press criticism, art history, and travel literature to suggest “recalibrating … what...
Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells from Discarded Neonatal Sternal Tissue: In Vitro Characterization and Angiogenic Properties

Autologous and nonautologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are being evaluated as proangiogenic agents for ischemic and vascular disease in adults but not in children. A significant number of newborns and infants with critical congenital heart disease who undergo cardiac surgery already have or are at risk of developing conditions related to inadequate tissue perfusion. During neonatal cardiac surgery, a small amount of sternal tissue is usually discarded. Here we demonstrate that MSCs can be isolated from human neonatal sternal tissue using a nonenzymatic explant culture method. Neonatal sternal bone MSCs (sbMSCs) were clonogenic, had a surface marker expression profile that was characteristic of bone marrow MSCs, were multipotent, and expressed pluripotency-related genes at low levels. Neonatal sbMSCs also demonstrated in vitro proangiogenic properties. Sternal bone MSCs cooperated with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to form 3D networks and tubes in vitro. Conditioned media from sbMSCs cultured in hypoxia also promoted HUVEC survival and migration. Given the neonatal source, ease of isolation, and proangiogenic properties, sbMSCs may have relevance to therapeutic applications.
Effects of Modest Amounts of Wheat Bran and Dietary Protein on Mineral Metabolism of Humans

Adverse effects of whole meal wheat bread on retention of calcium and iron by men were reported by McCance and Widdowson in the early 1940’s.1,2 Since then, their findings have been confirmed by others. One of these later investigators was Reinhold who showed that common whole meal wheat bread of Iranian villagers and Mexican tortilla impaired retention of various essential minerals. 3–6 His findings provided substantial support for the hypothesis that habitual consumption of large amounts of such breads is an important factor in the occurrence of zinc deficiency among the poor of Third World countries. Because the poor of Third World countries subsist in large part on cereals, the relevance of these findings for persons who consume western type diets which include only modest amounts of whole-grain cereal products is unclear.
Complementary Correction of the Defective Coagulation Mechanism of Hemophilic and Thrombocytopenic Blood.

SummaryIn both hemophilic and thrombocytopenic blood the defect of the clotting mechanism reflects a deficiency of active thromboplastin. Addition of thrombocytopenic blood to hemophilic blood results in a mixture in which the clotting time, clot retraction, prothrombin activity and “accelerator effect” of serum all become normal.These findings support the theory that at least two factors are necessary for the formation of active thromboplastin: a plasmatic agent, deficient in hemophilia, and a platelet factor, defective in thrombocytopenic purpura.
Order Relations and a Proof of l'Hôpital's Rule

(1997). Order Relations and a Proof of l'Hopital's Rule. The College Mathematics Journal: Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 288-292.
Field Control Efficiency of 4 Insecticides against Rice Leaffolder,Cnaphalocrocis medinalis

The field trail in the control efficiency of 4 insecticides against rice leaffolder,Cnaphalocrocis medinalh(Guenee) have been done.The experimental results showed that 20% chlorantraniliprole SC,15% indoxacarb SC and 31% sanfu(fipronil + triazophos) ME gave excellent control efficiency(over 90.08%) against the 1st~2nd instar larvae;while against the 3rd instar larvae,20% chlorantraniliprole SC at concentrations of 30g a.i./hm2 and 45g a.i./hm2 provided the control efficiency of more than 89.12%,the other insecticides had lower control efficiency.
Role of Antibodies in the Specificity of Natural Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity

Freshly isolated effector cells expressing natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity (NCMC) against cultured target cells possessed antibodies attached to Fc receptors on their cell surfaces. A wide variety of natural antibodies in the circulation combined with the receptors on effector cells to allow recognition of the many specificities on cultured target cells and resulted in reactions with an overall appearance of nonselectiveness. The role of antibodies in the specificity of NCMC was demonstrated by recovery of NCMC by trypsinized effector cells when incubated in serum. With absorbed serum, activity was selectively weaker against the absorbing target cell. When effector cells were reconstituted with antibodies eluted from the absorbing cells, selective cytotoxicity for that cell was detected. The specificity of effector cells reconstituted with eluted antibodies confirmed the results from previous studies on specificity by direct cytotoxicity and by competitive inhibition of cytotoxicity and supported the role of antibodies in NCMC.
Characteristics of Low-Income Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents: Implications for Public Policy

ABSTRACTThis article provides descriptive information about contemporary able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) using 2008 Current Population Survey data. Analyses of the demographic, employment, economic, and skill-building characteristics of ABAWDS reveal that poor ABAWDs struggle with low rates of program receipt and continuous employment as well as low levels of education in addition to other persistent disadvantages. Results suggest that this group has specific needs that can be addressed by social policies aimed at improving access to education, skill-building training, and long-term employment.
PULMONARY THROMBOEMBOLISM | Deep Venous Thrombosis

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a common and under-recognized disorder that places patients at risk for potentially fatal pulmonary embolism as well as chronic, painful postthrombotic syndrome. Thrombosis can affect essentially any vein in the body, depending on the underlying injury or condition and can involve superficial or deep veins. Stasis, venous injury, and hypercoagulability (thrombophila) are the classic basic risk factors from which all other risks are derived. The history and physical examinations are notoriously insensitive and non-specific for both DVT and pulmonary embolism. Leg swelling, erythema, warmth, pain, and/or tenderness may be present, but these symptoms may represent other entities such as cellulitis or trauma, and clinically distinguishing these can be difficult, requiring further evaluation. Compression ultrasound is the first-line diagnostic test, although when clinical suspicion is low, a negative D-dimer is generally adequate to rule out DVT. Treatment options for acute DVT include anticoagulation with low molecular weight or standard heparin. Larger, more symptomatic DVT may be better served by catheter-directed thrombolytic therapy with careful attention to the risk. Inferior vena cava filter placement is indicated if there is bleeding or substantial bleeding risk, or recurrence on adequate therapy. DVT is often but not always preventable but prophylaxis must be considered for all at-risk patients. Preventive methods include low molecular weight heparin, standard heparin, or pneumatic compression. Low molecular weight heparin has distinct advantages over standard heparin.
Preschool Teachers' Professional Training, Observational Feedback, Child-Centered Beliefs and Motivation: Direct and Indirect Associations with Social and Emotional Responsiveness.

Young children’s social and emotional competence is a key predictor of their current and future academic and social success. Although preschool teachers are critical socializing agent of children’s social and emotional development, we know little about factors associated with preschool teachers’ social and emotional responsiveness. This study examined how preschool teachers’ educational training and regularity of receiving observational feedback were associated with teachers’ social and emotional responsiveness, as mediated by more personal characteristics such as teachers’ child-centered beliefs and motivation for professional development. We investigated direct and indirect associations using a national survey of 1129 preschool teachers in the United States. We found that teachers with an associate degree, compared to those without, were more likely to respond negatively to children’s emotional displays. Taking child development or early education coursework was associated with less negative social guidance. Receiving regular observational feedback was associated with greater encouragement of expressing emotion and with less negative social guidance. We also found significant indirect associations. For example, teachers who received regular observational feedback had greater motivation for professional development, which in turn, predicted more positive social guidance and emotional responsiveness. More stringent educational criteria for preschool educators and ongoing observational feedback may support teachers’ optimal social and emotional responsiveness. In addition, educational training should incorporate child-centered theory and practices and observational feedback should include information specific to professional development resources.
Towards a quantum loudspeaker

Imagine that we could reduce the dimensions of a loudspeaker to the point where quantum effects became important. How would such a speaker sound and, in particular, how would its energy dissipate? Could we still turn it on and off, or would it be uncontrollable? Strange as these questions may seem, they are relevant to understanding how nanometre-scale devices approach thermal equilibrium, one of the burning issues in the emerging field of quantum calorimetry.
Changing agricultural practices: potential consequences to aquatic organisms

Agricultural practices pose threats to biotic diversity in freshwater systems with increasing use of glyphosate-based herbicides for weed control and animal waste for soil amendment becoming common in many regions. Over the past two decades, these particular agricultural trends have corresponded with marked declines in populations of fish and mussel species in the Upper Conasauga River watershed in Georgia/Tennessee, USA. To investigate the potential role of agriculture in the population declines, surface waters and sediments throughout the basin were tested for toxicity and analyzed for glyphosate, metals, nutrients, and steroid hormones. Assessments of chronic toxicity with Ceriodaphnia dubia and Hyalella azteca indicated that few water or sediment samples were harmful and metal concentrations were generally below impairment levels. Glyphosate was not observed in surface waters, although its primary degradation product, aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA), was detected in 77% of the samples (mean = 509 μg/L, n = 99) and one or both compounds were measured in most sediment samples. Waterborne AMPA concentrations supported an inference that surfactants associated with glyphosate may be present at levels sufficient to affect early life stages of mussels. Nutrient enrichment of surface waters was widespread with nitrate (mean = 0.7 mg NO3-N/L, n = 179) and phosphorus (mean = 275 μg/L, n = 179) exceeding levels associated with eutrophication. Hormone concentrations in sediments were often above those shown to cause endocrine disruption in fish and appear to reflect the widespread application of poultry litter and manure. Observed species declines may be at least partially due to hormones, although excess nutrients and herbicide surfactants may also be implicated.
Professionals' perceptions of and recommendations for matching juvenile drug court clients to services

Abstract Current practice in juvenile drug courts is to implement approaches and models that focus on identifying and meeting the needs of the youth through service-matching—such as the Juvenile Drug Court: Strategies In Practice (National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 2014) and Reclaiming Futures ( http://reclaimingfutures.org /), which when combined are JDC/RF programs—to increase effectiveness and produce better outcomes for the youth they serve. This study examined juvenile drug court representatives' reflections on the ability of juvenile drug courts that are implementing JDC/RF programs to match youth with services and the procedures used to do so. Overall, three major cross-JDC/RF site themes related to service-matching emerged from the data: a) Collaboration; b) Engaging Families; and c) Recommendations to Improve Service-Matching. On the whole, JDC/RF staff noted successes in collaborating within the juvenile drug court system and within the community, and in engaging families that facilitated and supported matching youth to services. They also saw opportunities for and noted multiple recommendations, many of which they were in the process of enacting, for continued growth and improvement in the area of matching youth to services. These results suggest that juvenile drug court teams perceived that they can surmount the barriers and challenges of matching youth to services; that adequate and appropriate staffing of juvenile drug courts is critical to effective service-matching; that juvenile drug courts needed to have formalized effective communication systems in place to facilitate and support a system of care focused on service-matching; and that successfully implementing JDC/RF and creating a system that supports service-matching requires juvenile drug courts to balance interagency collaboration and client confidentiality.
Hemostatic Factors Contribute to Tumor Cell Metastatic Potential by a Mechanism Linked to Natural Killer Cell Function.

Abstract A linkage between hemostatic system components and tumor cell metastatic potential has been well established, but the underlying mechanism(s) by which various circulating and cell-associated coagulation factors and platelets promote tumor cell dissemination remains to be fully defined. One potential mechanism by which tumor cell-associated microthrombi might enhance metastatic potential is by interfering with the cytolytic elimination of tumor cell emboli by natural killer (NK) cells. In order to explore this hypothesis, we studied tumor dissemination in mice lacking either fibrinogen or Gαq, a G protein critical for platelet activation. Comparative studies of experimental lung metastasis in control and Gαq−/− mice showed that loss of platelet activation resulted in a two-orders-of-magnitude decrease in pulmonary metastatic foci formed by either Lewis lung carcinoma or B16 melanoma. The difference in metastatic success was not the result of differences in tumor growth rate, as tumors transplanted into the dorsal subcutis of Gαq−/− and wildtype animals grew at similar rates. Rather, tumor cell fate analyses using radiolabeled tumor cells showed that the survival of tumor cells within the lung was significantly improved in mice that retained platelet activation function relative to Gαq−/− mice with a profound platelet activation defect. In order to examine the potential interplay between platelet activation and natural killer cell function, we compared pulmonary tumor cell survival in cohorts of control and Gαq−/− mice immuno-depleted of NK cells with an anti-asialo GM1 antibody. Remarkably, platelet function was no longer a determinant of metastatic potential in mice lacking NK cells. Given that fibrin(ogen) is also an established determinant of metastatic success we explored whether the influence of this key hemostatic factor on tumor cell dissemination was also mechanistically-coupled to natural killer cell function. We interbred fibrinogen-deficient mice with Gz-Ly49A transgenic mice known to have a constitutive deficit in NK cells. In those cohorts of mice with normal NK cells, we affirmed the earlier finding that fibrinogen deficiency resulted in a significant diminution in metastatic potential. However, consistent with our findings in mice with defective platelet activation, fibrinogen was found to no longer be a determinant of metastatic potential in mice lacking NK cells. These data establish another important link between innate immune surveillance and the hemostatic system. Further, it appears that at least one mechanism by which tumor cell-associated microthrombi increase metastatic potential is by restricting NK cell-mediated tumor cell elimination. Given that NK cell cytotoxicity requires direct contact with any target cell, one attractive model presently being explored is that tumor cell-associated platelets physically block NK cell access to tumor cell emboli.
Event classification in foreign language aviation reports

When adverse aviation events occur, narrative reports describing the events and their associated flights provide a valuable record for improving safety. Manual examination of large collections of such reports is challenging. Tools for automated event classification (assignment of type labels to individual reports) can help to mitigate this challenge. While several studies have developed and systematically empirically evaluated event classification tools on English aviation narratives, we are not aware of any that have done the same on foreign language narratives. We developed and implemented an approach for event classification based on Bayesian logistic regression and a novel feature selection technique. For comparison purposes, we also implemented an approach described in the literature. We collected and annotated a corpus of Japanese aviation incident reports, as well as, a corpus of French incident reports. We carried out a series of experiments comparing the accuracy of our approach and the other approach.
Weight, gender, and depressive symptoms in South Korea

Objectives Obesity consistently predicts depression risk, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Body concerns are proposed as key. South Korean society is characterized by extremely high levels of explicit weight stigma, possibly the highest globally. Using cross-sectional Korean 2014 National Health Examination Survey (KNHANES) data, we test this proposition in a nationally representative sample of South Korean adults (N = 5,632). Methods Depressive symptoms (outcome variable), was based on the PHQ-9. Weight status (predictor variable), was based on direct measures of height and weight converted to BMI. Weight concern was self-reported. Mediation analyses tested how weight concern mediated the influence of weight status on depressive symptoms for women and men. Results Current weight status influenced depressive symptoms in Korean adults, but not always directly. Concerns of being “fat” mediated that relationship. The effect increased significantly as BMI increased within “normal” and overweight/obese categories for women, and in overweight/obese categories for men. Even though women classified as underweight were significantly more depressed than those in other weight categories, there was no similar mediation effect related to weight concerns. Conclusion For South Koreans, the stress of adhering to social norms and avoiding stigma related to body weight seems to explain the relationship between higher body weight and more depressive symptoms. Women are more vulnerable overall, but men are not immune. This study demonstrates that body concerns help explain why weight predicts depression, and more broadly supports the proposition that widespread weight-related stigma is a potentially major, if unrecognized, driver of population-level health disparities.
Examination of Nondesignated Preliminary Surgery Residents Recruited Since the Inception of Supplementary Offer and Acceptance Program: Lessons Learned From a Large Academic Program.

Purpose The majority of surgery programs roster non-designated preliminary (NDP) residents. We and others have reported on the success of NDP resident mentoring with regard to categorical position placement. Lacking is a focus on the candidates themselves and differences based on initial career of choice. Methods NDP residents’ files since the institution of SOAP were reviewed for demographics, initial career choice, financial burden, region of medical school of origin, application and interview history, and pre-screen interview candidate score (high score of 22 – data includes USMLE scores, major clerkship grades, and AOA) used for categorical recruitment. Results From 2012-16 79 NDP residents have been recruited at UCDenver (82% via SOAP). Median age was 28 years, majority were single (73%), and male (82%). Thirty percent belonged to an under-represented minority group. Mean debt was $156,000 but 20% owe over $250,000. 90% attended US medical schools with 65% from the NRMP “South” region. 86% were recruited as fourth year students. NDPs were categorized as failing to match in general surgery (38%), surgical subspecialties (47%), or other (15%). NDPs applied to median of 68 programs (range 7-200) and granted a median of 8 interviews (range 0-24). NDPs had a mean pre-screening interview score of 13 out of 22 and only 9% would have met the standard threshold to obtain a categorical surgery interview. There were no differences in pre-screening scores in the three groups. 95% NDPs (excluding present year) successfully completed their R1 year (three resigned – one obtained a general surgery spot mid-year and two after matching in non-general surgery fields). 68% NDPs placed in categorical positions after the R1 year. The placement was better for the surgical subspecialty group compared to the other two. Conclusions The bias is that due to a more competitive applicant pool recruiting NDPs from surgical subspecialties would be optimal. However, those unmatched surgical subspecialty candidates are no better academically than the unmatched general surgery group, often have career interests that do not always align with scheduled rotations, and may not feel compelled to complete the year if they match. They place minimally better when accounting for those unmatched general surgery NDP R1s continuing as NDP R2s. Ultimately the success in a non-designated preliminary R1 surgery program is alignment of clinical educational opportunities with the needs of the trainee.
Oxidative stress in the retina: Implications for retinopathy of prematurity

Abstract Oxygen supplementation has been used as a part of respiratory care for preterm and term newborns since the beginning of 19th century. Although oxygen administration can be life-saving, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) due to hyperoxia can have detrimental effects in the developing organs of the preterm infants, with both short and long term consequences. Oxygen toxicity on the immature tissues of preterm infants can contribute to the development of several diseases like retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The vascular development of human retina is completed at term, whereas the neural retina develops up to 5 years of age. Disruption of the normal retinal neurovascular growth is the pathognomonic feature of ROP, and can lead to vision threatening disease or even blindness. It is estimated that at least 100,000 infants all over the world will be blind every year due to ROP, which is the leading cause of blindness in children. In this review we will discuss the role of ROS and RNS in the development of ROP, and how through historical, epidemiological, and developmental aspects of this devastating disease, we can design future research for its prevention and treatment.
A Burkholderia pseudomallei Outer Membrane Vesicle Vaccine Provides Cross Protection against Inhalational Glanders in Mice and Non-Human Primates

Burkholderia mallei is a Gram-negative, non-motile, facultative intracellular bacillus and the causative agent of glanders, a highly contagious zoonotic disease. B. mallei is naturally resistant to multiple antibiotics and there is concern for its potential use as a bioweapon, making the development of a vaccine against B. mallei of critical importance. We have previously demonstrated that immunization with multivalent outer membrane vesicles (OMV) derived from B. pseudomallei provide significant protection against pneumonic melioidosis. Given that many virulence determinants are highly conserved between the two species, we sought to determine if the B. pseudomallei OMV vaccine could cross-protect against B. mallei. We immunized C57Bl/6 mice and rhesus macaques with B. pseudomallei OMVs and subsequently challenged animals with aerosolized B. mallei. Immunization with B. pseudomallei OMVs significantly protected mice against B. mallei and the protection observed was comparable to that achieved with a live attenuated vaccine. OMV immunization induced the production of B.mallei-specific serum IgG and a mixed Th1/Th17 CD4 and CD8 T cell response in mice. Additionally, immunization of rhesus macaques with B. pseudomallei OMVs provided protection against glanders and induced B.mallei-specific serum IgG in non-human primates. These results demonstrate the ability of the multivalent OMV vaccine platform to elicit cross-protection against closely-related intracellular pathogens and to induce robust humoral and cellular immune responses against shared protective antigens.
Strange Ideas About Women, Families, and How We Work – A review of Wild Beauty by Anna Marie McLemore

Her mother and her cousins' mothers whispered that maybe this boy was a sign from God.The lovers they had lost would reappear.The grandmothers, who now left the boy alone to wash himself, agreed th...
Fostering mathematical inquiry: focus on teacher's interventions

Previous research has emphasized the need to better understand and articulate the demands in the work of teaching mathematics entailed by an inquiry-based approach. It is in this context that, first, we describe an inquiry task intended to provide high school students the opportunity to construct algebraic proofs. Second, as students work on the problem, we map students' inquiry process. More, we identify elements common to students' inquiry process and current views of how mathematics knowledge is constructed. Last, we illustrate the teacher's interventions intended to sustain students' inquiry. Among these, we identified: (1) helping students re-focus their inquiry, (2) helping students select mathematical tools, (3) accepting students' provisory ideas, (4) recognizing the potential in students' ideas and promoting the student to showcase the idea, and (5) reviewing a property using an additional example to preserve the original challenge for students.
Design and selection of wireless structural monitoring systems for civil infrastructures

Abstract: A dichotomy exists in structural monitoring installations: those with sensors tethered to the data repository with wires, and those which use wireless communication to create a distributed network of sensors. This chapter discusses the impact of the paradigm shift from the wired monitoring systems traditionally used, to the wireless systems recently developed. This new technology is capable of achieving effective measurements on par with its predecessor, and introduces new possibilities of large-scale networks of hundreds of sensors made possible by low installation costs and scalable in-network data processing. Design and selection considerations covered in this chapter include network architecture, wireless node hardware, and distributed embedded software. Although rapidly maturing and reaching commercialization, research opportunities still exist in the fields of data and power management, which are discussed as the chapter culminates.
Early Response Assessment in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Through Integrated PET/MRI

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to investigate early changes in 18F-FDG PET/MRI metrics after treatment in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and to correlate th...
PATIENTS WITH PENICILLIN ALLERGY AND POSITIVE PENICILLIN SKIN TEST SHOULD BE RETESTED IN THE FUTURE

Introduction Penicillin skin testing (PST) is an important diagnostic tool in the evaluation of IgE-mediated penicillin allergy. Previous research suggests that the rate of positive PST is falling and that previously positive PST turn negative overtime. Characterizing the decrease in PST sensitivity overtime is important to determine if these antibiotics could be used in the future. Methods A retrospective review of electronic medical records (January 1999-December 2017) was performed for patients with a history of penicillin allergy who underwent PST. Each chart review included the age at initial skin testing, gender, positive results to specific major and minor determinants by skin prick and intradermal testing, and any repeat PST. The study was approved by the institutional review board. Results 385 patients were identified as having positive PST. Fourteen of those patients had repeat PST. Of those 14 patients, 2 (14%) were males and 12 (86%) were female. The age at initial PST ranged from 2-82 years of age. All fourteen patients with a positive PST were negative on repeat PST. The mean time from initial skin testing to repeat skin testing was 5.93 years. Mean time from original reaction to first PST was 20 years and 27 years to second PST. Five patients had initial positive results to benzyl-penicilloyl, 5 to PCN G, 1 to penicilloate and 3 to amoxicillin. Conclusions Patients with a positive PST will likely lose sensitivity to penicillin with time. Patients with a positive PST should be re-evaluated with repeat testing in the future.
To save the bees or not to save the bees: honey bee health in the Anthropocene

As honey bee colonies continue to perish at high rates, beekeepers are divided on how best to keep bees healthy and productive. In this article, I describe the tensions between conventional beekeepers and a new wave of beekeepers hoping to “save the bees” through a more “natural” approach to beekeeping. Drawing on animal studies and multispecies literature, I show how beekeepers in both camps are constrained by the reality of the Anthropocene: novel ecologies, shifting baselines, and the hybridity of honey bees themselves—part wild animal subject to environmental change, part industrial organism, embedded in circuits of migratory pollination. Beekeepers on both sides are investing in genetics as a solution to honey bee health problems. Thinking with bees helps deepen the literature on multispecies encounters and interrogate the idea of sustainability in agriculture, while thinking with the Anthropocene prompts us to ask what “saving the bees” even means in today’s changing world.
The Indirect Influence of Organizational Safety Climate on Football Players' Concussion Reporting Intentions.

Most of the health interventions designed to increase athletes’ reporting of potential concussion symptoms have focused only on the individual athlete. Unfortunately, interventions targeted at athl...
Best Practices Would Make Things Better in the IoT

Internet of Things (IoT) security depends on the kindness of strangers, including in discovering, disclosing, and mitigating vulnerabilities. Multiple organizations have published best practices for producing secure IoT devices. We analyze two hubs, identify vulnerabilities, and detail how best practices would have prevented the flaws.
Conspiracy theories, election rigging, and support for democratic norms:

Under what conditions does conspiratorial rhetoric about election rigging change attitudes? We investigated this question using a survey experiment the day before and the morning of the 2016 US pre...
Reducing Unnecessary Nitric Oxide Use: A Hospital-Wide, Respiratory Therapist-Driven Quality Improvement Project.

BACKGROUND: We sought to evaluate the institutional use of inhaled nitric oxide (INO) and to create a pathway to reduce waste using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement9s model for improvement. Our aim was to reduce the use of INO by 20% within 8 months. METHODS: This was a prospective, respiratory therapist-driven, quality improvement project. We implemented a hospital-wide INO utilization protocol that was developed by neonatology, pediatric critical care, cardiac critical care, and respiratory therapy. INO use and respiratory therapist input for protocol failures were derived from the electronic medical record and were used to generate improvement opportunities. Monthly total hospital use of INO (in hours) was used as the primary outcome measure. Median hourly use per subject (evaluated in groups of 7 subjects) was used as a secondary outcome measure. New sildenafil dosing was tabulated for pre- and post-INO weaning protocol intervention as a balancing measure. Subjects included all patients in the hospital who were given INO therapy during the specified timeframe. RESULTS: Hospital-wide total hours were reduced from 1,515 h/month to 930 h/month. This hospital-wide reduction of 39% equates to a cost-avoidance of approximately $912,000 per year based on 2018 costs of INO of $130 per hour. Median hours of INO per subject decreased from 88 h to 50 h. Sildenafil was started in 18 of 98 subjects (18%) in the pre-intervention period and in 12 of 109 subjects (11%) in the post-intervention period (P = .27). CONCLUSIONS: A hospital-wide, multi-professional initiative led to a reduction in unnecessary INO use, resulting in decreased subject exposure and associated cost avoidance.
Classification of neoplastic and inflammatory brain disease using MRI texture analysis in 119 dogs

Magnetic resonance imaging is the primary method used to diagnose canine glial cell neoplasia and noninfectious inflammatory meningoencephalitis. Subjective differentiation of these diseases can be difficult due to overlapping imaging characteristics. This study utilizes texture analysis (TA) of intra-axial lesions both as a means to quantitatively differentiate these broad categories of disease and to help identify glial tumor grade/cell type and specific meningoencephalitis subtype in a group of 119 dogs with histologically confirmed diagnoses. Fifty-nine dogs with gliomas and 60 dogs with noninfectious inflammatory meningoencephalitis were retrospectively recruited and randomly split into training (n = 80) and test (n = 39) cohorts. Forty-five of 120 texture metrics differed significantly between cohorts after correcting for multiple testing (false discovery rate < 0.05). After training the random forest algorithm, the classification accuracy for the test set was 85% (sensitivity 89%, specificity 81%). TA was only partially able to differentiate the inflammatory subtypes (granulomatous meningoencephalitis [GME], necrotizing meningoencephalitis [NME], and necrotizing leukoencephalitis [NLE]) (out-of-bag error rate of 35.0%) and was unable to identify metrics that could correctly classify glioma grade or cell type (out-of-bag error rate of 59.6% and 47.5%, respectively). Multiple demographic differences, such as patient age, sex, weight, and breed were identified between disease cohorts and subtypes which may be useful in prioritizing differential diagnoses. TA of MR images with a random forest algorithm provided classification accuracy of inflammatory and neoplastic brain disease approaching the accuracy of previously reported subjective radiologist evaluation.
Standing on Their Own Two Feet: How the New Public Charge Rules Could Impact Non-European LPR Applicants

In February 2020, the U.S. government began to implement a new Public Charge rule that greatly expands the definition of "public charge" when determining admissibility for legal permanent residency (LPR). The rule seeks to determine not only whether applicants used public benefits in the past, but also whether they are likely to use them in the future. However, predicting future use based on characteristics measured at the time of application, such as English language proficiency and income, is difficult. We evaluate the risk of being deemed inadmissible as well as the likelihood of using public assistance by regional group. Using a sample of recently arrived LPRs in the 2013-2017 American Community Survey, we find that Mexicans/Central Americans face disproportionate risk of being deemed a public charge despite their relatively low public assistance use. This increased risk would likely alter the composition of newly admitted LPRs with relatively fewer Mexican/Central American LPRs.
Catheter-based interventions versus medical and surgical approaches in acute pulmonary embolism

Abstract Objective Catheter-based intervention (CBI) has become an increasingly popular option for treating pulmonary embolism (PE); however, the real benefits are unknown. The purpose of the present study was to compare the outcomes of patients treated with CBI with the outcomes of those treated with medical or surgical approaches. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of patients admitted from October 2015 to December 2017 with a diagnosis of acute PE. We compared patients aged ≥18 years with a diagnosis of acute PE treated with CBI against a control group identified by propensity score matching. The control group was divided into those who had undergone surgical pulmonary embolectomy (SPE) as the surgical group and those who had not undergone SPE as the medical group. The primary outcome was mortality (in-hospital and overall mortality). The secondary outcomes were major bleeding, length of hospital stay, thrombus resolution, right ventricle improvement in systolic function and dilatation, and recurrent PE. Results Of the 108 patients, 30 were in the CBI group and 78 were in the control group (62 in the medical group and 16 in the surgical group). The patient characteristics on admission were similar, except for the body mass index, which was greater in the CBI group (P = .03). No difference was found in clinical severity, clot burden, right ventricle function, or biomarkers. Recurrent PE was less frequent in the CBI group than in the medical group (0% vs 6.4%). Otherwise, no significant differences were found in the outcomes between the CBI and medical groups. When CBI was compared with the surgical group, SPE was associated with improved mortality (0% vs 16.6%) but a longer median length of hospital stay (median, 7 days; interquartile range, 3-12 days; vs median, 8 days; interquartile range, 6.5-17 days). Conclusions The use of CBI reduced the number of recurrent PE events compared with the medically treated patients; however, the mortality was higher than that in the surgical group.