cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ZP Domain Proteins in the Abalone Egg Coat include a Paralog of VERL Under Positive Selection that Binds Lysin and 18-kDa Sperm Proteins

Identifying fertilization molecules is key to our understanding of reproductive biology, yet only a few examples of interacting sperm and egg proteins are known. One of the best characterized comes from the invertebrate archeogastropod abalone (Haliotis spp.), where sperm lysin mediates passage through the protective egg vitelline envelope (VE) by binding to the VE protein vitelline envelope receptor for lysin (VERL). Rapid adaptive divergence of abalone lysin and VERL are an example of positive selection on interacting fertilization proteins contributing to reproductive isolation. Previously, we characterized a subset of the abalone VE proteins that share a structural feature, the zona pellucida (ZP) domain, which is common to VERL and the egg envelopes of vertebrates. Here, we use additional expressed sequence tag sequencing and shotgun proteomics to characterize this family of proteins in the abalone egg VE. We expand 3-fold the number of known ZP domain proteins present within the VE (now 30 in total) and identify a paralog of VERL (vitelline envelope zona pellucida domain protein [VEZP] 14) that contains a putative lysin-binding motif. We find that, like VERL, the divergence of VEZP14 among abalone species is driven by positive selection on the lysin-binding motif alone and that these paralogous egg VE proteins bind a similar set of sperm proteins including a rapidly evolving 18-kDa paralog of lysin, which may mediate sperm-egg fusion. This work identifies an egg coat paralog of VERL under positive selection and the candidate sperm proteins with which it may interact during abalone fertilization.
Isosteric heats of adsorption for neopentane on ammonium iodide in the region of the α-β phase transition

Abstract Anhydrous NH 4 I powder, prepared by the vapor phase reaction of NH 3 and HI, is characterized and isosteric heats of adsorption for neopentane are reported for both the α and β crystal modifications. The general nature of experimental isosteric heats, as well as a comparison of zero coverage heats with theoretical values obtained from lattice summations, suggests that the a phase exposes primarily (100) faces and that the β phase exposes equal proportions of negative and positive (100) faces.
Detection limits of albedo changes induced by climate engineering

Geoengineering the climate by increasing the Earth's reflectivity has been suggested. In this Perspective, the detectability of various methods is investigated. Although satellite observations can detect large changes in albedo, smaller increases caused by some methods of geoengineering are indistinguishable from natural variability. This raises the question of how such schemes would be managed if their impacts can not be quantified.
Examining the Relationship Between Key Visual Characteristics of Urban Plazas and Aesthetic Response

Urban plazas as public spaces occur in every town and city around the world; however, some plazas are more user-friendly and successful than others. This study examined that “aesthetics” also have a significant impact to determine the extent of success of urban plazas and urban open spaces in combination with other quantitative factors, such as centrality of location, provision of services, and amenities. In addition, this research sought to focus on the relationship between visual characteristics and aesthetic response to urban plazas. Photo elicitation and focus interviews were conducted to identify key visual characteristics as well as to examine aesthetic responses to those characteristics. Eight plazas and designed urban open spaces in Dhaka, Bangladesh, featured in the main study, and research methods included a structured questionnaire to collect data and used semantic differential rating scales as a measuring instrument. Outcomes from this research indicate that a positive aesthetic response was linked to specific visual characteristics of urban plazas, suggesting that this information could be used to more effectively refurbish existing and design new urban plazas as public spaces.
CHILDREN'S ACTIVITY AND TELEVISION COMPREHENSIBILITY

Children's attention to television, measured by visual attention and by self-reports, varied in this study depending on the comprehensibility of the content. Children's visual attention was lower when they viewed Sesame Street, Greek, and backwards language bits than with randomly edited or normal bits, but their visual attention did not discriminate between random and normal bits. However, self-reports of effort to comprehend showed that the oldest children found the random bits harder to understand than the normal bits. Because the older children's visual attention was equivalent for two types of bits that they reported were different in difficulty, the results suggest that comprehensibility may be of limited value in explaining older children's active television viewing, but also that studies explicitly tying together visual attention, effort, perceptions of a wide variety of program characteristics, and comprehension are in order.
Chemical cystourethritis: The errant contraceptive

Irritative voiding symptoms caused by mucosal inflammation from inadvertent topical application of chemical substances have been reported. An unusual case of chemical cystourethritis from a vaginal contraceptive suppository is described. A 32-year old woman attempting to practice contraception by using a vaginal suppository (Semicid) advertised to dissolve rapidly accidentally inserted the suppository into her urethra. The errant contraceptive evoked intense urethral pain with strangury for 2 hours which then gradually abated. When seen the next morning the patient had minimal discomfort and slight frequency. Cystourethroscopy using topical anesthesia showed scattered erythematous patches of the mucosa on the trigone and around the base of the bladder. The urethra showed marked inflammation. The symptoms resolved within 24 hours. Chemical mucositis of the urinary tract varies in intensity. The condition can be minimal eliciting minor irritative voiding symptoms and therefore can be difficult to diagnose like bubble-bath cystitis. Chemical mucositis may however be severe and painful as in formalin bladder instillations. The cystourethritis caused by the vaginal suppository errantly inserted into the urethra in this case was severe short-lived and resolved without apparent chronic sequelae. A similar case has been described previously. (full text)
Importance of patient selection for patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), as even low-concentration solutions may lead to a very high block

Patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) is an excellent choice of analgesia technique in labor; however, patient selection for such treatment is important. A 14 year old healthy parturient receiving PCEA had a very high block due to patient noncompliance.
Import (toy) safety, consumer protection and the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade: prospects, progress and problems

Given increased concerns about the safety of imported toys, is a total or partial ban on toy imports an option under prevailing global trade rules? Specifically, can governments unilaterally adopt new technical regulations that introduce higher safety standards for toys? This paper examines the legal implications of a direct or indirect ban on toy imports. Analysis is carried out through the framework of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization. Does the TBT Agreement restrict democratic control over product standards thus jeopardising public health and welfare? Or, does the TBT Agreement afford countries adequate flexibility to manage risks to human health and safety from tainted imports even while guarding harmful barriers to global trade? The question arises because technical regulations and standards implicate international trade law and international human rights law. This paper highlights the tension between trade liberalisation and health and safety.
A unified framework for optimizing locality, parallelism, and communication in out-of-core computations

This paper presents a unified framework that optimizes out-of-core programs by exploiting locality and parallelism, and reducing communication overhead. For out-of-core problems where the data set sizes far exceed the size of the available in-core memory, it is particularly important to exploit the memory hierarchy by optimizing the I/O accesses. We present algorithms that consider both iteration space (loop) and data space (file layout) transformations in a unified framework. We show that the performance of an out-of-core loop nest containing references to out-of-core arrays can be improved by using a suitable combination of file layout choices and loop restructuring transformations. Our approach considers array references one-by-one and attempts to optimize each reference for parallelism and locality. When there are references for which parallelism optimizations do not work, communication is vectorized so that data transfer can be performed before the innermost loop. Results from hand-compiles on IBM SP-2 and Inter Paragon distributed-memory message-passing architectures show that this approach reduces the execution times and improves the overall speedups. In addition, we extend the base algorithm to work with file layout constraints and show how it is useful for optimizing programs that consist of multiple loop nests.
Long-term results of tacrolimus monotherapy in cardiac transplant recipients.

Background Conventional immunosuppression for heart transplantation is associated with various adverse effects. Tacrolimus monotherapy (TM) is an alternative strategy that minimizes exposure to additional immunosuppressants. Methods We retrospectively reviewed clinical data for all adult transplant recipients between January 1, 1996 and May 1, 2004. Clinical outcomes were analyzed according to immunosuppressive regimen. Results A total of 167 heart transplants were performed at our center. Eight patients died before receiving calcineurin inhibitors and were excluded from analysis. The mean follow-up for the 159 surviving patients was 1,520 ± 78 days. Ninety of 124 patients initially treated with tacrolimus and corticosteroids were weaned to TM without the use of an anti-proliferative agent (Group A), resulting in an overall success rate of 75% at an average of 271 ± 18 days after transplant. The remaining 69 recipients were treated with other tacrolimus- or cyclosporine-based regimens (Group B). Survival was significantly greater in Group A. The prevalence of high-grade rejection within the first year and incidence of cardiac allograft vasculopathy were similar between groups. Ten patients (11%) in Group A required recommencement of combination immunosuppression at an average of 768 ± 772 days. Conclusions TM is achievable in the majority of cardiac transplant recipients. Patients who tolerated reduced immunosuppression enjoyed greater survival than those treated with other regimens, without additional high-grade rejection or vasculopathy. These promising results remain to be confirmed in a prospective trial.
Functional MR Imaging in Oncology

We are currently in the era of personalized therapy, which has a direct impact on oncologic therapies. The emphasis on precision medicine is driving the field of molecular diagnostics and creating the burgeoning arena of imaging proteomics and genomics. This issue of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Clinics of North America is incredibly timed with the recent announcement of the Precision Medicine Initiative by the National Institutes of Health. The role of imaging in modern oncology will clearly be impactful as oncologic diagnostics and therapeutics become more targeted and personalized. This issue provides state-of-the-art reviews of numerous current techniques, such as diffusion-weighted imaging, dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging, blood-oxygen–dependent level, and MR spectroscopy. This issue also has articles covering evolving techniques, such as chemical
Efficacy of the Opioid Compliance Checklist to Monitor Chronic Pain Patients Receiving Opioid Therapy in Primary Care

Abstract The Opioid Compliance Checklist (OCC) is a self-report measure for chronic pain patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy. The original measure includes ‘yes’ or ‘no’ items that reflect the content of a typical opioid therapy agreement. The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of the OCC for monitoring opioid adherence among chronic noncancer pain patients within primary care. One hundred seventy-seven chronic pain patients were recruited as part of a larger study from 8 primary care centers. All patients completed pre- and poststudy measures as well as the OCC once a month for 6 months. Patients were classified on the Drug Misuse Index on the basis of results of urine toxicology screens, physician misuse behavior ratings, and self-report questionnaire results. Patients treated in primary care reported fewer incidences of misuse compared with patients from pain specialty centers in the original study. Three items from the OCC were found to be most predictive of opioid misuse measured according to the area under the curve (AUC = .681) analyses, although use of the 8-item OCC seemed equally valid. By the end of the study the patients reported lower scores on the OCC (greater compliance with their opioid medication). Results of this study suggest that the psychometric parameters of the shortened 8-item OCC are not based solely on unique characteristics of the initial validation sample. The OCC seemed to be a reliable and valid screening tool to help detect current and future aberrant drug-related behavior and nonadherence among chronic pain patients in primary care. Perspective The OCC is a brief ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questionnaire that reflects areas of compliance that are often included in an opioid therapy agreement. Repeated administrations of the OCC among patients who receive opioids for chronic pain can increase the chance of identifying those who misuse or are likely to misuse opioids.
Allocation and Reallocation in Accordance with the Partners' Interests in the Partnership

If a partnership agreement either fails to allocate an item of partnership income, gain, deduction, credit, or loss, or does so invalidly, section 704(b) requires the item to be allocated "in accordance with the partners' interests in the partnership" (PIP). A brief portion of the section 704(b) regulations interpret this reallocation standard, providing guidelines of varying specificity. Commentators agree that the guidelines are vague and puzzling. The courts have not often had to apply this portion of the regulation. However, in the event that the courts do employ section 704(b), they have assigned an implicit priority to the different guidelines, eliminating some from discussion without comment, and avoiding any general discussion of the reallocation problem. This elliptical judicial practice follows that of the examples in the regulation itself. As a consequence, reallocation presents, apart from a few straightforward safe harbors, straits of uncertainty for taxpayers and their advisors. This article examines the regulatory guidelines and offers a taxonomy of situations to which they apply. The article concludes that the guidelines do not provide systematic answers - so that the courts have been right to apply them selectively and intuitively - because the guidelines represent policy concerns that cannot be readily harmonized. When properly analyzed, the relevant portion of the regulation appears to contemplate two standards of allocation (or reallocation). The first standard would allocate partnership items that have tax consequences, whether they affect non-tax economic consequences or not, in the same proportion as the partners would share the economic consequences of partnership operations, distributions and liquidation in a no-tax world (the virtual-economic-agreement standard). The second standard requires allocations that eliminate capital account deficits of partners who have no deficit restoration obligation, or otherwise match economic risk and tax advantage, without regard to the partners' intended economic arrangement (the curative standard). It is characteristic of curative allocations to depart from the partners' economic agreement. Thus, the two standards often have incompatible consequences; they are certainly not interchangeable or equivalent. Despite the regulation's unambiguous imposition of both standards, it is written as if it established a univocal standard; the regulations extensive reliance on the phrase "in accordance with the partner's interest in the partnership" suffices to suggest this. This equivocation creates a risk of discordant allocation decisions by courts and confusion for taxpayers and their advisors.
Abstract 601:In vitroandin vivoinhibition of β-catenin by two novel β-catenin RNA antagonists, EZN-3889 and 3892

Background: β-Catenin is a subunit of the cadherin protein complex and a key integral component in the Wnt signaling pathway. Therefore, it not only plays an important role in cell-cell adhesion but also in tumorgenesis. β-catenin is activated in most colon cancers due to either mutations in APC or activating mutations in β-catenin itself. Furthermore, activating β-catenin mutations have been found in a variety of other tumors such as melanomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, breast, and prostate cancer, whereas β-catenin is not activated in most normal tissues. Therefore, inhibition of β-catenin is likely to have therapeutic effects in many cancers. Unfortunately, because β-catenin is devoid of any enzymatic activity, the development of inhibitors of β-catenin has been slow. We present here both in vitro and in vivo evidence that the lack of specificity of small-molecule inhibitors may be overcome by two novel β-catenin LNA-based mRNA antagonists, EZN-3889 and EZN-3892. Material and Methods: In vitro, the ability of the compounds to inhibit mRNA, cell growth, and reporter gene were evaluated by qRT-PCR, MTS, and luciferase assays respectively, in multiple cell lines. In vivo, β-catenin mRNA down-modulation in liver and human tumors, which were grown on the flank of nude mice, was evaluated after intravenous administration of the compounds. Results: Without lipofection, we found that these two antagonists could specifically down modulate β-catenin mRNA and protein effectively in multiple cell lines with a long-lasting effect. Additionally, these two molecules effectively inhibited β-catenin transcriptional activity in SW480 colorectal and H1581 lung cancer cells stably expressing a TCF/LEF luciferase reporter gene, resulting in growth inhibition. Combination of EZN-3889 or 3892 with sulindac demonstrated improved activities in both growth and reporter assay. Moreover, EZN-3889 and 3892 inhibited the spontaneous growth of spheroids in SW480 culture and convert SW480 spheroids to monolayers. Preliminary data suggest that these spheroids were more tumorgenic than the monolayer cells. In mice, both molecules significantly down modulated β-catenin mRNA in the liver. Conclusions: Without lipofection, β-catenin antagonists potently and specifically inhibited β-catenin mRNA expression both in vitro and in vivo after intravenous injection. Target inhibition correlated with growth inhibition and phenotypical change of SW480 spheroids. Further studies will examine the significance of the inhibition of the spheroids and the effect of these antagonists on tumor growth. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 601.
First neutrino oscillation measurements in NOvA

Abstract The NOvA experiment uses the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam and a newly constructed 14 kt detector to address several open questions in neutrino oscillations including the neutrino mass hierarchy, the precise value of the angle θ 23 , and the CP-violating phase δ CP . The experiment has been running since 2014 and has recently released its first results from an equivalent exposure of 2.74 × 10 20 protons-on-target equal to 8% of the eventual data set. Measurements of ν μ → ν μ oscillations find Δ m 32 2 = ( 2.52 − 0.18 + 0.20 ) × 10 − 3 eV 2 and 0.38 sin 2 ⁡ θ 23 0.65 for the normal neutrino mass hierarchy. The experiment has observed ν μ → ν e oscillations at 3.3 σ C.L. in this early data and disfavors the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy in the range 0.1 π δ CP 0.5 π at the 90% C.L.
A moment matching approach to log-normal portfolio optimization

We consider the problem where a manager aims to minimize the probability of his portfolio return falling below a threshold while keeping the expected return no worse than a target, under the assumption that stock returns are Log-Normally distributed. This assumption, common in the finance literature for daily and weekly returns, creates computational difficulties because the distribution of the portfolio return is difficult to estimate precisely. We approximate it with a single Log-Normal random variable using the Fenton–Wilkinson method and investigate an iterative, data-driven approximation to the problem. We propose a two-stage solution approach, where the first stage requires solving a classic mean-variance optimization model and the second step involves solving an unconstrained nonlinear problem with a smooth objective function. We suggest an iterative calibration method to improve the accuracy of the method and test its performance against a Generalized Pareto Distribution approximation. We also extend our results to the design of basket options.
Barriers to universal health coverage in rural areas and causes: The economic incentives of supply and demand

Research conducted on a large-scale household survey of 5 sample counties,and institution surveys on township healthcare centers and village clinics in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region have been adopted to describe the barriers to universal health coverage in rural areas. Fundamental issues where thereby discovered from the perspectives of the economic incentives of supply and demand. Issues persist in the poor access to basic outpatient services and the heavy financial burden on patients,irrational service flows to medical institutions at different tiers,resulting in low allocative efficiency,low technical efficiency and a poor quality of basic healthcare. These issues result from a benefit package that is prioritized towards inpatient services and higher tier hospitals,low-power incentives for village physicians,perverse incentives incurred by fee-for-service plans,a lack of financial factors for improving service efficiency or quality and incentives to promote system integration.
Research and design of security and stability control device communication on process level

In order to cater to the development of smart grid and meet the new requirement of security and stability control device based on smart substation,according to the characteristics of digital substation, security and stability control device based on digital substation communication on process level are researched. Under the environment of digital substation based on IEC61850, security and stability control device need to receive a mass of process level data. The difficulty lies in the access of sample value (SAV) message and the process of generic object-oriented substation event (GOOSE) message. According to the difficulty, the methods of centralized and layered hardware structure and real-time embedded operating system are proposed. The transmission scheme of SAV and GOOSE is put forward. The results of site operation show that this scheme can meet the demand of security and stability control device based on digital substation.
A Sensitive Sandwich DNA Array Using Fluorescent Nanoparticle Probes

An ultrasensitive sandwich DNA array using highly fluorescent and photostable dyedoped silica nanoparticles is described. Compared to traditional sandwich arrays in which fluorophores have been used to signal target DNA molecules, the developed nanoparticle probes provide a much stronger fluorescent emission. Signal amplification of the dyedoped silica nanoparticles originates from the large number of dye molecules doped inside each individual nanoparticle. In addition, the silica matrix of the nanoparticles protects dye molecules from photobleaching. Thus, the dye-doped nanoparticles provide a constant fluorescent signal that is sufficient for detection of trace amounts of target DNA. By immobilizing a complementary DNA sequence to the target onto the nanoparticle surface, a fluorescent nanoparticle-DNA probe is formed. These nanoparticle probes are then used as superemitting reagents to perform a typical sandwich assay. By using a high-resolution fluorescent microscope, individual nanoparticle-DNA probes that have been hybridized to capture target strands can be observed clearly at low target DNA concentrations. More important, the number of the nanoparticle-DNA probes hybridized to the target DNA is proportional to the target DNA concentration in solution. By counting the number of localized fluorescent "spots" on the array, the target DNA concentration can be determined. In this chapter, detailed methods used to synthesize nanoparticle-DNA probes, fabricate the sandwich array, prepare the substrate, and quantitatively determine DNA concentration are described.
Learning and Memory in Invertebrates: Aplysia

The marine invertebrate Aplysia has been used extensively as a model system to study learning and memory, allowing the dissection of learning mechanisms at the network, cellular, and molecular levels. The withdrawal reflexes of Aplysia display associative and nonassociative learning, which rely on modifications of sensory neurons and their synapses onto target cells. Whereas habituation is attributed to activity-dependent synaptic depression, sensitization, and classical conditioning have been attributed to the facilitatory actions of serotonin. Finally, the feeding behavior of Aplysia has recently emerged as a useful model system for the mechanistic comparison of classical and operant conditioning.
Prostate Cancer: Diffusion-weighted MR Imaging for Detection and Assessment of Aggressiveness—Comparison between Conventional and Kurtosis Models

Purpose To compare standard diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging and diffusion kurtosis (DK) imaging for prostate cancer (PC) detection and characterization in a large patient cohort, with attention to the potential added value of DK imaging. Materials and Methods This retrospective institutional review board-approved study received a waiver of informed consent. Two hundred eighty-five patients with PC underwent 3.0-T phased-array coil prostate magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, including a DK imaging sequence (b values 0, 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 sec/mm2) before prostatectomy. Maps of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and diffusional kurtosis (K) were derived by using maximal b values of 1000 and 2000 sec/mm2, respectively. Mean ADC and K were obtained from volumes of interest (VOIs) placed on each patient's dominant tumor and benign prostate tissue. Metrics were compared between benign and malignant tissue, between Gleason score (GS) ≤ 3 + 3 and GS ≥ 3 + 4 tumors, and between GS ≤ 3 + 4 and GS ≥ 4 + 3 tumors by using paired t tests, analysis of variance, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and exact tests. Results ADC and K showed significant differences for benign versus tumor tissues, GS ≤ 3 + 3 versus GS ≥ 3 + 4 tumors, and GS ≤ 3 + 4 versus GS ≥ 4 + 3 tumors (P .15). ADC and K were concordant for these various outcomes in 80.0%-88.6% of patients; among patients with discordant results, ADC showed better performance than K for GS ≤ 3 + 4 versus GS ≥ 4 + 3 tumors (P = .016) and was similar to K for other outcomes (P > .136). Conclusion ADC and K were highly correlated, had similar diagnostic performance, and were concordant for the various outcomes in the large majority of cases. These observations did not show a clear added value of DK imaging compared with standard DW imaging for clinical PC evaluation. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.
The Centaur's Lessons: Therapeutic Education Through Care of Animals and Nature Study

Publisher Summary This chapter suggests that the evolutionary development of the human brain was shaped by the necessity to forage and hunt. As a by-product of this necessity, humans have an innate tendency to pay attention to animals and the natural surroundings. The tendency to pay attention to animals is in turn associated with an increased capacity for response inhibition, which is particularly enabling for children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or those who have difficulty learning from lecture or textual materials. Individuals with ADHD often tend to have more spontaneity than normal individuals. Their thinking is at times unrestrained and creative, but at other moments is quite disorganized and tangential. Their speech patterns are compromised in which they exhibit inarticulateness, disfluencies, and psycholinguistic impairments. They act unpredictably and lack the intermediate reflection between impulse and action that is required for goal-directed or context-regulated behavior. The central focus of disinhibition and the inadequacies of accommodating responses to situational demands result in a panoply of symptoms associated with ADHD, including behavioral impulsivity, disruptiveness, variability in attention and performance, disorganization, interpersonal tactlessness, impatience, mood changes, and sensation seeking typically in the form of risk-taking behaviors.
Is It Better To Elicit Quantile Or Probability Judgments to Estimate a Continuous Distribution? Elicit Both and Create an Inner Crowd.

Managers frequently rely on the judgment of an expert to estimate a probability distribution for a continuous random variable. Two elicitation methods are commonly used to gather this information: (i) quantile judgments for a set of fixed probability values, or (ii) probability judgments based on a set of fixed variable values, but a consensus on which format yields more accurate distribution estimates has not been reached. We report results from a series of eight experiments conducted with 1,456 participants with a range of quantitative backgrounds to compare these elicitation formats for a variety of variables, including synthetically generated numbers displayed in a video, daily high and low temperatures, the ages of people with a given name, commute times, home prices, and household incomes. In total, our data set includes 30,870 complete distribution judgments. The data show that probability distributions constructed from quantile judgments tend to be more accurate than those obtained from cumulative probability judgments. However, visual probability elicitation tools offered similar performance to quantile judgments, with each format holding a slight advantage according to different metrics. On average, quantile judgments were slightly further from the empirical distribution while visual probability judgments were slightly overconfident. We find that averaging the distributions obtained from quantile judgments with those obtained from visual probability judgments provides superior performance to either approach, delivering significantly better accuracy and calibration of confidence intervals. Based on these results, we recommend, when possible, eliciting judgments using both the quantile and visual probability formats and combining the resulting distributions.
Protagoras and the Philosophic Origins of Antilogic

The antilogical theory of argumentation originates with Protagoras of Abdera, the preeminent Sophist of Periclean Athens Protagoras was the first Sophist to hold public debates, the first professional teacher of advanced studies, a major philosophical and rhetorical influence, a friend and ally of Pericles, and, according to many, the founder of humanistic education (see Schiller, B Smith, Bouwsma) Despite his stature, however, any effort to reconstruct a Protagorean approach to rhetoric and argumentation begins basically from scratch As Edward Schiappa notes, the investigation of Protagoras by communication scholars has been “virtually non-existent” (16) That is, while we have a growing volume of commentary on Protagoras, little of this scholarship directly addresses the relation between Protagorean ideas and the rhetorical tradition, and even less attention has been paid to the potential contribution of Protagorean thought to the theory, practice, and pedagogy of contemporary discourse.
Knowledge Translation of the PERC Rule for Suspected Pulmonary Embolism: A Blueprint for Reducing the Number of CT Pulmonary Angiograms.

Author(s): Drescher, Michael J.; Fried, Jeremy; Brass, Ryan; Medoro, Amanda; Murphy, Timothy; Delgado, Joao | Abstract: Introduction: Computerized decision support decreases the number of computed tomography pulmonary angiograms (CTPA) for pulmonary embolism (PE) ordered in emergency departments, but it is not always well accepted by emergency physicians. We studied a department-endorsed, evidence-based clinical protocol that included the PE rule-out criteria (PERC) rule, multi-modal education using principles of knowledge translation (KT), and clinical decision support embedded in our order entry system, to decrease the number of unnecessary CTPA ordered. Methods: We performed a historically controlled observational before-after study for one year pre- and post-implementation of a departmentally-endorsed protocol. We included patients g 18 in whom providers suspected PE and who did not have a contraindication to CTPA. Providers entered clinical information into a diagnostic pathway via computerized order entry. Prior to protocol implementation, we provided education to ordering providers. The primary outcome measure was the number of CTPA ordered per 1,000 visits one year before vs. after implementation. Results: CTPA declined from 1,033 scans for 98,028 annual visits (10.53 per 1,000 patient visits (95% CI [9.9-11.2]) to 892 scans for 101,172 annual visits (8.81 per 1,000 patient visits (95% CI [8.3-9.4]) pl0.001. The absolute reduction in PACT ordered was 1.72 per 1,000 visits (a 16% reduction). Patient characteristics were similar for both periods.Conclusion: Knowledge translation clinical decision support using the PERC rule significantly reduced the number of CTPA ordered.
Should I call for help?: Examining the influences of situational factors and bystander characteristics on reporting likelihood

This article focuses on the topic of campus crime reporting, particularly students’ stated likelihood of reporting crime incidents to the college public safety department, municipal police, or a me...
Diamond Wire Sawing of Solar Silicon Wafers: A Sustainable Manufacturing Alternative to Loose Abrasive Slurry Sawing

Abstract Slicing silicon wafers for solar cells and micro-electronic applications by diamond wire sawing has emerged as a sustainable manufacturing process with higher productivity, reduced kerf-loss, thinner substrates that save material, and reduced environmental impact through the use of water-based cutting fluids, compared to the conventional loose abrasive slurry sawing process. This paper reviews recent research on diamond wire sawing of photovoltaic silicon wafers and compares it with the loose abrasive wire sawing process from a standpoint of sustainable manufacturing. Various aspects of the diamond wire sawing process including surface morphology, total thickness variation (TTV), surface and subsurface damage, fracture strength, residual stress, stress induced phase transformation, effect of microstructure and abrasive grit shape are critically reviewed and areas of future need are identified.
Combined Button and Screw Technique for Distal Biceps Ruptures

Abstract Distal biceps tendon ruptures occur almost exclusively in middle aged men, and with the “baby boomer” population reaching that age group, publications discussing this injury increased 130% from 1995-2010. As nonoperative treatment of distal biceps rupture leads to 40% reduction in elbow supination strength, 79% decrease in supination endurance, 30% loss in flexion strength, and 30% decrease in flexion endurance, operative repair is favored for most patients. The most popular and biomechanically sound method of fixation is a combined cortical button or tension-slide technique with tenodesis screw fixation at the native footprint on the bicipital tuberosity. Several studies show this method has a lower incidence of early failure, rerupture, and stronger biomechanical properties in cadaveric studies. The preferred surgical method is detailed with appropriate dissection, preparation of the distal biceps tendon, preparation of the bicipital tuberosity, and tendon fixation and early mobilization with postoperative rehabilitation to ensure proper healing and return to activity.
Load Factors for Prestressed Concrete Bridges

Use of load factors in ultimate design is compared to elastic theory and allowable stress method; variables affecting load factor of bridge sections analyzed, indicating wide divergence when designed on basis of no tension in concrete; significance of load distribution, load repetition, and meaning of yield point and usable strengths.
A novel retinoid X receptor agonist, UAB30, inhibits rhabdomyosarcoma cells in vitro.

Abstract Background While patients with early-stage rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) have seen steady improvement in prognosis over the last 50 y, those with advanced-stage or high-grade disease continue to have a dismal prognosis. Retinoids have been shown to cause growth suppression and terminal differentiation in RMS cells, but the toxicities associated with retinoic acid limit its use. Rexinoids provide an alternative treatment approach to retinoic acid. Rexinoids primarily bind the retinoid X receptor with minimal retinoic acid receptor binding, the entity responsible for many of the toxicities of retinoid therapies. UAB30 is a novel rexinoid with limited toxicities. We hypothesized that UAB30 would lead to decreased cell survival in RMS. Materials and methods Two RMS cell lines, one embryonal (RD) subtype and one alveolar (St. Jude Cancer Research Hospital 30) subtype, were used. Cells were treated with UAB30, and cytotoxicity, proliferation, mobility, and apoptosis were evaluated. Results UAB30 significantly decreased RMS tumor cell viability and proliferation. Invasion, migration, and attachment-independent growth were reduced following UAB30 treatment. UAB30 also resulted in apoptosis and G1 cell cycle arrest. UAB30 affected both the alveolar and embryonal RMS cell lines in a similar fashion. Conclusions The results of these studies suggest a potential therapeutic role for the low-toxicity synthetic retinoid X receptor selective agonist, UAB30, in RMS treatment.
Image-based memes as sentiment predictors

This paper explores the correlation between the implied semantic meaning of image-based memes and the textual content of discussions in social media. The behavior of a meme is also distinctive as memes replicate and mutate, similar to genes in human evolution, during propagation in social media networks. This research focuses on the use of sentiment analysis to discover affective meanings of textual comments in social media that are emphasized by the use of memes. Social media provides an interesting challenge in the field of semantic textual analysis due to the prevalence of slang within casual communications. The research supports that the affective nature of a topic in social media can be emphasized by the type of meme applied to the communication. It is the relationship between the unusual multimedia element — the meme — and social media textual communications at motivate the research. In addition to identifying correlations between text and memes, trends in the use of popular memes are also identified. This research successfully demonstrated that memes are used to emphasize the semantic content in social media communications and that the meanings of memes correlate to the topics of the discussion threads.
Drone Noise Reduction through Audio Waveguiding

Drones have become increasingly popular in today's world and extend to a wide variety of applications. However, one key limitation of drones even today is the audio noise emanating from their propellers. This noise is a characteristic of almost all drones available off--the--shelf and limits the capability of drones to record audio during flight. In this paper, we explore how simple techniques can help reduce and/or mitigate the drone propeller noise. Prior works have targeted addressing drone noise using sophisticated propeller designs and digital noise cancellation techniques. We aim at simple yet effective approaches that can be applied to any kind of drone without complex customization. One approach we broadly investigate in this paper is how to sound--proof the drone so as to absorb, cancel and/or redirect the audio noise away from the location of the microphone associated with the drone.
High Self-Esteem: Multiple Forms and Their Outcomes

Self-esteem has been empirically investigated extensively and has become deeply ingrained in the social and popular conscience. Varied definitions of self-esteem across disciplines and perspectives and inconsistent empirical findings with self-esteem have yielded a messy research literature and have produced many lingering questions. In this chapter, we briefly review the “mess” of self-esteem, first focusing on its inconsistent empirical findings. Then, we propose a differentiated view of high self-esteem as being either fragile or secure, and how this differentiated view can help “clear the waters” of self-esteem research. Next, we highlight self-esteem’s importance in personal and cultural identity processes, examining in particular potential cultural changes influenced by the concept of high self-esteem. Finally, we discuss where self-esteem comes from and how we can cultivate “healthy” self-esteem, and we discuss two individual difference measures—authenticity and mindfulness—that relate to secure self-esteem processes.
Terahertz electronics for sensing and imaging applications

Short channel field effect transistors can detect terahertz radiation. Such detection is enabled by the excitation of the plasma waves rectified due to the device nonlinearities. The resulting response has nanometer scale spatial resolution and can be modulated in the sub THz range. This technology could enable a variety of sensing, imaging, and wireless communication applications, including detection of biological and chemical hazardous agents, cancer detection, shortrange covert communications (in THz and sub-THz windows), and applications in radio astronomy. Field effect transistors implemented using III-V, III-N, Si, SiGe, and graphene have been used to detect THz radiation. Using silicon transistors in plasmonic regimes is especially appealing because of compatibility with standard readout silicon VLSI components.
2017 Program Director Survey: Feedback from your adult neurology residency leadership

Objective To survey adult neurology program directors (PDs) and inform the future development of neurology training programs. Methods All US adult neurology PDs were invited to complete the survey. The goals were to determine the demographic makeup of residency programs, characterize curricula, understand PD and program needs, and compare results to those of a similar survey in 2007. Results The response rate was 70.6%. PD demographics for age, faculty track status, and academic rank remain unchanged over the last decade. The proportion of female PDs and assistant PDs has increased significantly. The mean number of residents per training program has also increased significantly. Female PDs are more likely to have a junior academic rank than their male colleagues. Disparities remain between the PDs9 time spent on teaching/program administration and salary support. Most PDs support moving fellowship applications later in the training cycle. The majority of PDs find the Clinical Competency Committee process useful in assessing resident competence. A minority of PDs feel that the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones meet their intended purpose. Half of programs include a curriculum to supplement the clinical experience on child neurology rotations. A third of programs include a supplemental curriculum for psychiatry rotations. The majority of programs offer a general fund for residents to use to support their education. Conclusion Deficiencies exist in compensation for PDs9 teaching and administrative time and for academic promotion for female PDs. These results serve as a benchmark for comparison across programs and the basis to advocate for further improvements and support for neurology residency training.
The Frontier Myth of Memory, Dreams, and Trauma in Westworld

The relationship between the narrative—Westworld as a corporation which provides a park for wealthy guests to embrace their basest desires without consequence—and counter-narrative—hosts who are traumatized but unaware—highlights the importance of memory and dreams in normative sexual discourse. Thus, hosts’ dreams are actually reality in a different space (the lab) while their nightmares are memories of actual events in another space (the park). To complicate the counter-narrative even more, the hosts are not capable of resistance without their memories, and their memories, their reveries, only exist because of a programming code Arnold created. In this way, the plot of Westworld connects to Freud’s theory of wish-fulfillment and Focault’s theory of normative sexual discourse.
Response to anti-angiogenic therapy reflects tumor genotype and microenvironment

58 Breast cancers progress through accumulation of genetic changes in epithelial-derived tumor cells. Expansion of specific populations of cells gives rise to clones that develop resistance to various anticancer agents. In contrast, tumor-supporting stromal elements such as the vasculature are thought to be less heterogeneous and potentially to provide a more consistent target for anti-tumor therapeutics. To test whether the microvasculature of mammary tumors was similar in the presence of diverse populations of tumor cells, we analyzed key aspects of the angiogenic phenotype in a series of mammary tumors that develop in transgenic mice. Specifically, we have examined capillary density, morphometry, gene expression profiles in wnt10b, erbB2, Brca1 and p53-dependent models that were developed in the inbred FVB background. We find that morphometric features of the tumor vasculature are quite distinct in tumors arising from diverse genetic insults. The phenotypes correlate with differences in gene expression profiles of genes known to regulate endothelial growth. To determine if these tumor cell genetic differences impart differences in response to various modes of anti-angiogenic therapy, primary cell lines from the erbB2, wnt10b, Brca1/erbB2, and Brca1/p53 -/- transgenic tumors were established and injected orthotopically into female nude mice. Vehicle control, anti-VEGF and endostatin therapy were initiated on day 1 and tumor growth kinetics were determined. Tumors derived from erbB2 and Brca1/erbB2 cell lines demonstrated a robust response to anti-VEGF therapy with the Brca1/erbB2 cell line responding to endostatin to a lesser degree. Interestingly, tumors derived from the wnt10b cell line demonstrated poor responses to both anti-VEGF and endostatin therapies. These results provide evidence that the molecular events that govern mammary epithelial transformation impact the extracellular environment, specifically the vascular compartment. Moreover, these differences have therapeutic consequences as they affect the tumor’s response to anti-angiogenic therapy. They also provide a basis for the development of criterion (based on angiogenic phenotype) for the prediction of tumor response to specific therapeutic strategies.