cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
F0 estimation for noisy speech by exploring temporal harmonic structures in local time frequency spectrum segment

In this paper, we propose a noise robust F0 estimation approach by exploring the temporal harmonic structures in local time-frequency (TF) spectrum segment. Since the speech energy is sparsely distributed on the TF plane, the speech harmonic structures occupied in the higher speech energy TF segment are tending to dominate over noise. Thus, we attempt to derive F0 from such high (signal to noise ratio) SNR TF segments rather than full band signal. Our algorithm comprises of two stages: i) F0 candidate estimation for a series of TF segments; ii) F0 tracking based on the acoustic features of each TF segment as well as the F0 temporal continuity constraints. Experimental results show that our approach outperforms the compared methods in terms of F0 estimation accuracy.
Laparoscopic Surgery for Acute Appendicitis in Children With Cancer.

Introduction Abdominal pain during cancer chemotherapy may be caused by medical or surgical conditions. A retrospective review of 5 children with cancer who had appendicitis while receiving chemotherapy was performed. Case descriptions Three had acute lymphoblastic leukemia,and 1 each had T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. Two of the patients had a Pediatric Appendectomy Score of 6, and 1 each had a score of 7, 5, and 2. All had evidence of appendicitis on computed tomography. Laparoscopic appendectomy was performed without any perioperative complication. Discussion Appendicitis is an important diagnosis in children with cancer, and laparoscopic appendectomy is safe and the procedure of choice.
Clinico-pathological study of appendicitis in a tertiary centre in Vindhya region, Madhya Pradesh, India -

Background: Appendicitis is one of the commonest conditions responsible for the admission of patients to hospital for surgical treatment. Aim of study was to find the incidence of appendicular lesions according to age and sex and to analyze clinical condition of appendicitis according to Alvarado score and to investigate and correlate the finding with clinical symptoms in relation to TLC, X-Ray abdomen and Ultrasound and to manage the cases accordingly conservatively or subjected to emergency or elective appendectomy. Prospective cohort study. Methods: The Patients with classical symptoms and sign of acute, recurrent and chronic appendicitis were admitted in surgical ward were subjected to investigations including haemoglobin, TLC & DLC, Blood Sugar, Blood Grouping, X-ray chest, x-ray abdomen and ultrasound of abdomen. Patients were evaluated according to Alvarado score. Study was done in 385 patients over 1 year period. Results: Three hundred eighty five patients with Appendicitis were evaluated and incidence of appendicular lesions was 4.28%. Maximum incidence of appendicitis was in age group 21-30 years (33.50%), (30.39%) patients were of Alvarado score 6 or more. Majority of cases 315 (81.82%) out of 385 treat conservatively and 70 (18.18%) patients were operated. Patients with Alvarado score >7, 13 (3.37%) had positive operative findings and 11 (2.85%) had positive histopathological examination and patients with TLC > 10000, 11 (2.85%) had positive operative findings and 11 (2.85%) had positive histopathological examination and polymorph >75,28 (7.27%) had positive operative findings and 28(7.27%) had positive histopathological examination. Conclusions: In this study we found that clinical score is a simple, rapid and non-invasive method to early diagnosis of appendicitis. TLC are inflammatory marker are also useful in early diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Ultrasound abdomen is also useful to confirm the diagnosis. The majority of our patients presented early disease. Conservative approach of treatment gave positive response and then we planned for elective appendectomy after regular interval. Because of these negative appendectomy rate are decreasing and morbidity period are also decreasing pre or post appendectomy. There was much less post-operative complication, which were higher in emergency appendectomy. In our study we concluded that timely intervention reduce the negative appendectomy and reduce the length of morbidity.
West Syndrome: Seizure Types and Lesions

ABSTRACT.The classical clinical triad of West syndrome consists of the seizure type infantile spasms, the EEG pattern hypsarrhythmia, and mental retardation. However, when patients are evaluated by time-locked video-EEG and details of the seizure types and EEG patterns are correlated with clinical, radiological, and pathological data it becomes apparent that there are several subtypes of West syndrome. These subtypes have different clinical manifestations, etiologies, and prognoses.
Impact of the Opioid Safety Initiative on opioid-related prescribing in veterans

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) designed the Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) to help decrease opioid prescribing practices associated with adverse outcomes. Key components included disseminating a dashboard tool that aggregates electronic medical record data to audit real-time opioid-related prescribing and identifying a clinical leader at each facility to implement the tool and promote safer prescribing. This study examines changes associated with OSI implementation in October 2013 among all adult VHA patients who filled outpatient opioid prescriptions. Interrupted time series analyses controlled for baseline trends and examined data from October 2012 to September 2014 to determine the changes after OSI implementation in prescribing of high-dosage opioid regimens (total daily dosages >100 morphine equivalents [MEQ] and >200 MEQ) and concurrent benzodiazepines. Across VHA facilities nationwide, there was a decreasing trend in high-dosage opioid prescribing with 55,722 patients receiving daily opioid dosages >100 MEQ in October 2012, which decreased to 46,780 in September 2014 (16% reduction). The OSI was associated with an additional decrease, compared to pre-OSI trends, of 331 patients per month (95% confidence interval [CI] -378 to -284) receiving opioids >100 MEQ, a decrease of 164 patients per month (95% CI -186 to -142) receiving opioids >200 MEQ, and a decrease of 781 patients per month (95% CI -969 to -593) receiving concurrent benzodiazepines. Implementation of a national health care system-wide initiative was associated with reductions in outpatient prescribing of risky opioid regimens. These findings provide evidence for the potential utility of large-scale interventions to promote safer opioid prescribing.
What's in a Name? The Importance of Students Perceiving That an Instructor Knows Their Names in a High-Enrollment Biology Classroom.

This study investigated whether instructors know student names and the importance of instructors knowing names. Nine reasons that students feel having their names known is important were identified...
Substrate effects on cell-envelope deformation during early-stage Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation

Bacterial adhesion to a surface is the first step in biofilm formation, and adhesive forces between the surface and a bacterium are believed to give rise to planktonic-to-biofilm phenotypic changes. Here we use Focused-Ion-Beam (FIB) tomography with backscattered scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to image Staphyolococcus aureus (S. aureus) biofilms grown on Au-coated polystyrene (PS) and Au-coated PS modified by mixed thiols of triethylene glycol mono-11-mercaptoundecyl ether (EG3) and 1-dodecanethiol (CH3). The FIB-SEM technique enables a direct measurement of the contact area between individual bacteria and the substrate. The area of adhesion is effectively zero on the EG3 substrate. It is nonzero on all of the other substrates and increases with increasing hydrophobicity. The fact that the contact area is highest on the unmodified gold, however, indicates that other forces beyond hydrophobicity are significant. The magnitude of bacterial deformation suggests that the adhesive forces are on the order of a few nN, consistent with AFM force measurements reported in the literature. The resolution afforded by electron microscopy furthermore enables us to probe changes in the cell-envelope thickness, which decreases within and near the contact area relative to other parts of the same bacterium. This finding supports the idea that mechanosensing due to stress-induced membrane thinning plays a role in the planktonic-to-biofilm transition associated with bacterial adhesion.
Improved Spatiotemporal Source-Based Air Pollutant Mixture Characterization for Health Studies

The growing availability of spatially resolved health data sets (i.e., resident and county level patient records) requires spatially resolved exposure or air quality metrics to investigate the impact of air pollution on health outcomes. While daily air quality data are essential in time-series epidemiologic analysis, the spatial distribution of the observations is limited. Air pollution modeling (i.e., chemical transport modeling (CTM)) addresses this by producing spatially resolved air quality predictions using terrain, emissions and meteorology inputs. However, predicted concentrations may be biased. This work incorporates unique data fusion approaches to combine air quality observations from regulatory monitoring networks (OBS) with the output from a CTM (CMAQ) to generate spatially and temporally resolved gaseous and PM species concentrations. Species concentrations alone cannot directly identify emission sources or characterize pollutant mixtures, therefore source apportionment (SA) models are required to estimate source impacts. The focus of this work is a comparison of SA results for three U.S. regions with differing air pollution sources, St. Louis, Missouri; Atlanta, Georgia; and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.
Modeling and analysis of a laparoscopic camera's interaction with abdomen tissue

Robotic camera systems have recently drawn attention in minimally invasive surgeries(MIS). Control and manipulation of these systems during traversing abdominal cavity is associated with camera-tissue interaction. This paper demonstrates a theoretical and experimental analysis of a wireless laparoscopic camera's interaction with abdominal wall during MIS. A mechanical model is developed to represent the behavior of abdominal wall bulk tissue by considering skin, fat, muscle and connective tissues layers which predicts behavior of the tissue during interaction with laparoscopic camera. The model was implemented in ABAQUS to analyze the camera-tissue interaction and find interaction forces generated during contact and motion with different linear and rotational speeds. Simulations were validated by experiments on porcine tissue which can be used for proper control of insertable camera. A noninvasive method is proposed to measure the mechanical properties of each patient's abdominal wall tissue at start of MIS in order to tune the control system to optimize the interaction depth and opposite forces. This method features preventing overload damage and camera fall during MIS.
Neurogenic obesity and systemic inflammation following spinal cord injury: A review.

Content: Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) results in physiological changes that markedly reduces whole-body metabolism, resulting in neurogenic obesity via adipose tissue accumulation. Adipose tissue has been implicated in the release of proinflammatory adipokines that lead to chronic, systemic inflammation, and evidence suggests these adipokines contribute to the pathogeneses of metabolic diseases that often accompany obesity. In this review, we propose the concept of neurogenic obesity through paralysis-induced adiposity as the primary source of systemic inflammation and metabolic dysfunction reported in chronic SCI. We also briefly discuss how exercise in SCI can attenuate the negative consequences of obesity-induced inflammation and its comorbidities.Methods: A MEDLINE, PubMed, Google Scholar, and ClinicalKey search was performed using the following search terms: obesity, adiposity, adipose tissue, proinflammatory adipokines, proinflammatory cytokines, metabolic dysfunction, exercise, physical activity, and s...
Life as A Moment: by Iacob Catoiu. Bucharest, Romania: Editura Academia de Studii Economice Bucuresti (Publishing House of the Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest), 2014, 489 pp.

ABSTRACTThis book is an impressive memoir of one of Romania's most stellar marketing academics, Dr. Iacob Catoiu. It takes the reader from the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the heart of Transylvania, where Dr. Iacob Catoiu was born—in a storybook-like large village in a farming community known for its elaborate cultural traditions—through the anti-market and anti-marketing absurdities of communism, and to the greatest peaks of accomplishment and altruism in marketing academia. The book describes the rise of a brilliant academic through the ranks of Romanian academia, to reach the pivotal moment when he received a fellowship in the United States to deepen his knowledge a marketing. This led him to a doctoral fellowship at Northwestern University, an opportunity that created access to leading marketing academics. The narrative then follows Dr. Catoiu at the helm of a complex process that transformed the Romanian marketing academy into one able to study—and to lead future Romanian managers to succ...
Human-in-the-loop applied machine learning

Machine learning research in academia is often conducted in vitro, divorced from motivating practical applications. As a result researchers often lose the ability to ask the question: how can my human expert's knowledge be used to best improve the machine learning outcome? In this talk, we present three motivating applications that all benefit from human-guided machine learning: systematic reviews for evidence-based medicine, generating maps of global land cover of the Earth from remotely sensed data, and finding lesions in the MRI's of treatment resistant epilepsy patients. Our machine learning contributions span active learning, both supervised and unsupervised learning, and their combination with human input. The methods we created are applicable to a wide range of applications in science, medicine and business.
Health and Mortality, Body Stature as a Measure of

During the nineteenth century, scholars gradually realized that environment can systematically affect human growth. In modern times, a child's growth rate is likely the best single indicator of his or her health and nutritional status. Though the relationships between nutritional intake, infectious disease, and stature are particularly notable during infancy and childhood, recent research has demonstrated that mean adult height, which is a function of the nutritional and disease history of an individual, is a valuable indicator of the health status of a population, though genetics play the dominant role in explaining variation in individual heights. Body mass, as measured by the Body Mass Index (BMI) is also associated with health and mortality. Low body mass can indicate wasting and nutritional deficiencies, and high body mass is a risk factor for several important chronic health conditions and mortality. Nutrition, infectious disease environments, and socioeconomic status, are key factors influencing stature. Variation in national income can explain much of the variation in mean heights across countries, but socioeconomic differentials in stature also exist within almost all countries, with the most pronounced differentials found in less developed countries.
The Nature of the Social Experiences of Students with Deaf-Blindness who are Educated in Inclusive Settings:

This qualitative case study investigated the nature of social experiences and opportunities for communication among students who are deaf-blind, their sighted peers with no hearing loss, and adults...
A “Smart” Undershirt for Tracking Upper Body Motions: Task Classification and Angle Estimation

The use of interactive or “smart” textiles that have sensing material(s) incorporated into them supports an emerging technology for physical activity assessment called smart textile systems (STSs). STSs are an increasingly useful technology for researchers, athletes, patients, and others. In this paper, we developed and assessed a novel smart undershirt (SUS) that was designed to monitor low-back (thorax versus pelvis) and shoulder motions. The SUS consists of stretchable undershirt, electronic components, and an array of 11 body-worn sensors (BWSs) printed on the clothing. The BWSs are developed by coating electroactive polymers (i.e., polymerization) on the fabric and are wired using conductive threads. This shirt is the first smart garment for tracking both lower back and shoulder motions using printed textile sensors. The 16 participants performed 10 upper body movements while wearing the SUS for the purpose of assessing the accuracy of task classification and angle estimation. Input from the SUS led to classification accuracy at the individual levels up to 94% and planar angle estimations with errors on the order of 1.3° and 9.4° for the low back and shoulder, respectively. The performance was poorer, though, at the group level. The SUS appears to be a promising alternative for the purpose of monitoring upper body motions and activities.
Public Health as a Matter of Concern: Victorian England, 1834-1848:

Public health is currently evolving, expanding, and reinforcing itself as a governance project in which health authorities’ concerns meet and blend with epidemiology and civil engineering. Rarely, ...
Safety and effectiveness of stereotactic laser ablation for epileptogenic cerebral cavernous malformations

Objective Magnetic resonance (MR) thermography-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy, or stereotactic laser ablation (SLA), is a minimally invasive alternative to open surgery for focal epilepsy caused by cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs). We examined the safety and effectiveness of SLA of epileptogenic CCMs. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 19 consecutive patients who presented with focal seizures associated with a CCM. Each patient underwent SLA of the CCM and adjacent cortex followed by standard clinical and imaging follow-up. Results All but one patient had chronic medically refractory epilepsy (median duration 8 years, range 0.5-52 years). Lesions were located in the temporal (13), frontal (five), and parietal (one) lobes. CCMs induced magnetic susceptibility artifacts during thermometry, but perilesional cortex was easily visualized. Fourteen of 17 patients (82%) with >12 months of follow-up achieved Engel class I outcomes, of which 10 (59%) were Engel class IA. Two patients who were not seizure-free from SLA alone became so following intracranial electrode-guided open resection. Delayed postsurgical imaging validated CCM involution (median 83% volume reduction) and ablation of surrounding cortex. Histopathologic examination of one previously ablated CCM following open surgery confirmed obliteration. SLA caused no detectable hemorrhages. Two symptomatic neurologic deficits (visual and motor) were predictable, and neither was permanently disabling. Significance In a consecutive retrospective series, MR thermography-guided SLA was an effective alternative to open surgery for epileptogenic CCM. The approach was free of hemorrhagic complications, and clinically significant neurologic deficits were predictable. SLA presents no barrier to subsequent open surgery when needed.
Health care-associated infections are associated with increased length of stay and cost but not mortality in children undergoing cardiac surgery.

INTRODUCTION Health care-associated infections (HAIs) increase mortality, length of stay, and cost in hospitalized patients. The incidence of and risk factors for developing HAIs in the pediatric population after cardiac surgery have been studied. This study evaluates the impact of HAIs on length of stay, inpatient mortality, and cost of hospitalization in the pediatric population after cardiac surgery. METHODS The Kids' Inpatient Database was queried for analysis. Patients under 18 years of age who underwent cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2012 were included. HAIs were defined as central line-associated blood stream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonias, and surgical wound infections. Univariate analysis compared admissions with and without a HAI. Next, regression analysis was done to determine patient factors independently associated with a HAI, and to determine what specific HAIs were independently associated with our primary outcomes. RESULTS In total 46 169 admissions were included, 773 (1.6%) of which had a HAI. Regression analysis showed younger age (P < .001), heart failure (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.4, P = .03), and acute kidney injury (AKI; 2.7, 2.0-3.6, P < .001), among others were all independently associated with a HAI. The presence of HAI was associated with increased length of stay (median 29 vs 6 days, P < .001), total cost (median $271 884 vs $88 385, P < .001), and inpatient mortality (6.1% vs 2.5%, P < .001) by univariate analysis. Regression analysis demonstrated that each HAI were independently associated with increased length of stay and increased total charges for the hospital stay. However, HAI, was not associated with increased mortality after regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of HAIs in this analysis was low (1.6%) but contributed significantly to length of stay and cost. No individual HAI was associated with increased mortality. Potential modifiable risk factors include age and prevention of AKI.
The Nullstellensatz for supersymmetric polynomials

In this paper we prove a Nullstellensatz for supersymmetric polynomials. This gives a bijection between radical ideals and superalgebraic sets. These are algebraic sets which are invariant under the Weyl groupoid of Sergeev and Veselov, \cite{SV2}. Note that the algebra of supersymmetric polynomials is not Noetherian, so the usual Nullstellensatz does not apply. However it deos satisfy the ascending chain condition on radical ideals and this allows for the decomposition of superalgebraic sets into irreducible components. Analogous results hold for the a ring of Laurent supersymmetric polynomials. As an application, we give a proof of conjecture 13.5.1 from \cite{M}. This concerns the maximal ideals in the enveloping algebra of the general linear and orthosymplectic Lie superalgebras. The center is closely related to the algebra of supersymmetric polynomials and the result can be thought of as an analog of the weak Nullstellensatz.
Socio-Demographic Pattern of Physical Function and Self-Rated Health of Older Adults in an Oil-Rich State of Nigeria

The physical function (PF) and self-rated health (SRH) of older adults (50–80+ years), and the association with their socio-demographic characteristics was investigated in a Nigerian setting. Quest...
Lifitegrast: a novel drug for patients with dry eye disease.

The objective of this article is to review the pharmacology, efficacy, and safety of lifitegrast and determine its role relative to other agents in the management of dry eye disease. A PubMed searc...
Fully Digital 1-1 MASH VCO-Based ADC Architecture

This paper proposes a novel architecture for purely voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) based 1-1 MASH secondorder analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Each stage of the MASH uses an open loop inverter based ring VCO. The proposed ADC uses phase information from all inverters in the VCO in both the MASH stages to perform efficient multi-bit quantization. A novel VCO quantization error extraction circuit is proposed to easily extract quantization noise of the first VCO stage. A gain calibration for the second stage of the ADC has been analyzed. Behavioral simulations have been performed to validate the proposed architecture.
Genetic toxicity assessment using liver cell models: past, present, and future

Genotoxic compounds may be detoxified to non-genotoxic metabolites while many pro-carcinogens require metabolic activation to exert their genotoxicity in vivo. Standard genotoxicity assays were developed and utilized for risk assessment for over 40 years. Most of these assays are conducted in metabolically incompetent rodent or human cell lines. Deficient in normal metabolism and relying on exogenous metabolic activation systems, the current in vitro genotoxicity assays often have yielded high false positive rates, which trigger unnecessary and costly in vivo studies. Metabolically active cells such as hepatocytes have been recognized as a promising cell model in predicting genotoxicity of carcinogens in vivo. In recent years, significant advances in tissue culture and biological technologies provided new opportunities for using hepatocytes in genetic toxicology. This review encompasses published studies (both in vitro and in vivo) using hepatocytes for genotoxicity assessment. Findings from both standard and newly developed genotoxicity assays are summarized. Various liver cell models used for genotoxicity assessment are described, including the potential application of advanced liver cell models such as 3D spheroids, organoids, and engineered hepatocytes. An integrated strategy, that includes the use of human-based cells with enhanced biological relevance and throughput, and applying the quantitative analysis of data, may provide an approach for future genotoxicity risk assessment.
A casa cai: unveiling geographies of exclusion and violence

Favelas have existed for more than a century and have been historically portrayed as spaces of violence, criminality, and poverty. Over the years there have been different efforts to eliminate them from the wealthiest parts of the city. In spite of the different policies to remove them, the presence of favelas persists in areas close to wealth neighborhoods such as Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. In 2014, Marcelo Backes published the novel A casa cai. The book tells the story of a former seminarist who leaves the priesthood after his father’s death. While investigating documents from his father’s safe, he realizes that part of his family’s fortune was made from real estate investments at the place where it used to be the Favela da Praia do Pinto. Drawing from David Harvey’s discussion on neoliberalism and urban space and Neil Smith’s notion of gentrification, the essay explores the ways in which the novel engages with questions of urban policies, displacement, violence, and memory. In so doing, it attempts to unveil the close association between capital, favela eradication programs and issues of inequality and discrimination. I argue that the novel is part of a larger debate over the struggle between social justice and the reproduction of capital. I also contend that Backes’s novel is part of a revisionist project that attempts to bring other facets to the military dictatorship in Brazil.
Quaking-induced conversion of prion protein on a thermal mixer accelerates detection in brains infected with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents

Detection of misfolded prion protein, PrPTSE, in biological samples is important to develop antemortem tests for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). The real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay detects PrPTSE but requires dedicated equipment and relatively long incubation times when applied to samples containing extremely low levels of PrPTSE. It was shown that a microplate shaker with heated top (Thermomixer-C) accelerated amplification of PrPTSE in brain suspensions of 263K scrapie and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). We expanded the investigation to include TSE agents previously untested, including chronic wasting disease (CWD), macaque-adapted variant CJD (vCJD) and human vCJD, and we further characterized the assays conducted at 42°C and 55°C. PrPTSE from all brains containing the TSE agents were successfully amplified using a truncated hamster recombinant protein except for human vCJD which required truncated bank vole recombinant protein. We compared assays conducted at 42°C on Thermomixer-C, Thermomixer-R (without heated top) and on a fluorimeter used for RT-QuIC. QuIC on Thermomixer-R achieved in only 18 hours assay sensitivity similar to that of RT-QuIC read at 60 hours (or 48 hours with sCJD). QuIC on Thermomixer-C required 24 hours to complete and the endpoint titers of some TSEs were 10-fold lower than those obtained with RT-QuIC and Thermomixer-R. Conversely, at 55°C, the reactions with sCJD and CWD on Thermomixer-C achieved the same sensitivity as with RT-QuIC but in shorter times. Human vCJD samples tested at higher temperatures gave rise to high reactivity in wells containing normal control samples. Similarly, reactions on Thermomixer-R were unsuitable at 55°C. The main disadvantage of Thermomixers is that they cannot track formation of PrP fibrils in real time, a feature useful in some applications. The main advantages of Thermomixers are that they need shorter reaction times to detect PrPTSE, are easier to use, involve more robust equipment, and are relatively affordable. Improvements to QuIC using thermal mixers may help develop accessible antemortem TSE tests.
Detections of the 2175 \AA Dust Feature at 1.4z 1.5 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

The strongest spectroscopic dust extinction feature in the Milky Way, the broad absorption bump at 2175 \AA, is generally believed to be caused by aromatic carbonaceous materials -- very likely a mixture of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules, the most abundant and widespread organic molecules in the Milky Way galaxy. In this paper we report identifications of this absorption feature in three galaxies at $1.4 \lesssim z \lesssim 1.5$ which produce intervening MgII absorption toward quasars discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The observed spectra can be fit using Galactic-type extinction laws, characterized by parameters [R_V, E(B-V)] ~ [0.7, 0.14], [1.9, 0.13], and [5.5, 0.23], respectively, where R_V=A_V/E(B-V) is the total-to-selective extinction ratio, E(B-V) = A_B-A_V is the color-excess. These discoveries imply that the dust in these distant quasar absorption systems is similar in composition to that of Milky Way, but with a range of different grain size distributions. The presence of complex aromatic hydrocarbon molecules in such distant galaxies is important for both astrophysical and astrobiological investigations.
Putting the Anthropocene into Practice: Methodological Implications

The foundational premise of the Anthropocene, constant across the range of proposed definitions, is that the biophysical world is now profoundly social. This carries substantive methodological impl...
Exploratory Findings on U.S. Adolescents’ Pornography Use, Dominant Behavior, and Sexual Satisfaction

Objectives: Sexual satisfaction is an important component of sexual health and wellbeing across the life course, including adolescence. While research on pornography use and sexual satisfaction has...
Shoot Tip Cryopreservation as a Conservation Tool for Species of Quercus: Effects of Species and Environment on Recovery.

Background The seeds of oak (Quercus) species cannot be conserved in conventional seed banks and require cryobiotechnologies for long-term, ex situ conservation. Objective To evaluate shoot tip cryopreservation as a method for conserving oaks ex situ. Materials and methods Droplet vitrification was tested on tips from shoot cultures of four oak species; the effects of three preculture and recovery growth conditions on survival and growth were tested with Q. virginiana. Results Shoot tips of Q. virginiana gave the best survival through liquid nitrogen exposure (56%), compared with Q. hinckleyi (20%), Q. suber (12%), and Q. gambelii (0%). In further tests with Q. virginiana, recovery in the alternating temperature regime (27 C / 151C, 16 h / 8 h) gave significantly better survival than at constant 21sC and significantly better growth than constant 26CC. Conclusion While there are species differences in the response to droplet vitrification, these results indicate that shoot tip cryopreservation should be explored further as a conservation tool for oaks.
A Spectrum Sensor for CubeSat Radios

Cube satellite (CubeSat) launches have increased exponentially over the last 20 years. This class of miniature spacecraft is well-suited for a set of nonconventional satellite architectures collectively known as formation flying. With the exponential pace of launches expected to continue, the prospect of spectrum management for these complex formations arises. In previous work, investigators focus on terrestrial applications of spectrum sensing, which have the luxury to utilize hardware with high size, weight, and power (SWaP) resources. In this work, we develop and test a spectrum sensor for CubeSat radio applications.Given that CubeSat radios are inherently designed for low SWaP, they cannot implement the computationally expensive spectral correlation analyzer (SCA) algorithms for signal detection. To that end, our investigation focuses on the application of the SCA to square-root-raised-cosine (SRRC) pulse-shaped quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) waveforms using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). This model requires no prior knowledge of the radio-frequency (RF) channel. We show that this model can consistently and accurately detect the symbol rate and center frequencies of waveforms located in a spectrum.
What predicts how safe people feel in their neighborhoods and does it depend on functional status

Abstract Feeling unsafe in one's neighborhood is related to poor health. Features of the neighborhood environment have been suggested to inform perceptions of neighborhood safety. Yet, the relative contribution of these features (e.g., uneven sidewalks, crime, perceived neighborhood physical disorder) on perceived neighborhood safety, particularly among people with disabilities who may view themselves as more vulnerable, is not well understood. We examined whether sidewalk quality assessed by third party raters, county-level crime rates, and perceived neighborhood disorder would relate to neighborhood safety concerns, and whether functional limitations would exacerbate these links. Using data from the 2012/2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (n = 10,653, mean age = 66 years), a national sample of older US adults, we demonstrate that those with and without functional limitations felt less safe in areas with more crime and perceived as more disordered. When considered simultaneously, however, only perceived disorder statistically significantly predicted safety concerns. Living in neighborhoods with better sidewalk quality was statistically significantly related to feeling less safe, but only among those with functional limitations. Sidewalk quality was not statistically significantly related to safety reports among those without functional limitations. To our knowledge, this study is among the first to examine multiple features of the neighborhood environment simultaneously in relation to perceived neighborhood safety. Our findings highlight the relative importance of perceived physical disorder, and that these perceptions relate to safety concerns. Replication of this research is needed to determine the robustness of these patterns, including rich data on pedestrian use and sidewalk proximity to roadways. Community-level interventions that simultaneously target the multifaceted features of the neighborhood environment that shape people's safety reports may be needed to reduce burden of health.
Altered O-glycomes of Renal Brush-Border Membrane in Model Rats with Chronic Kidney Diseases.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is defined as a decrease in renal function or glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and proteinuria is often present. Proteinuria increases with age and can be caused by glomerular and/or proximal tubule (PT) alterations. PT cells have an apical brush border membrane (BBM), which is a highly dynamic, organized, and specialized membrane region containing multiple glycoproteins required for its functions including regulating uptake, secretion, and signaling dependent upon the physiologic state. PT disorders contribute to the dysfunction observed in CKD. Many glycoprotein functions have been attributed to their N- and O-glycans, which are highly regulated and complex. In this study, the O-glycans present in rat BBMs from animals with different levels of kidney disease and proteinuria were characterized and analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). A principal component analysis (PCA) documented that each group has distinct O-glycan distributions. Higher fucosylation levels were observed in the CKD and diabetic groups, which may contribute to PT dysfunction by altering physiologic glycoprotein interactions. Fucosylated O-glycans such as 1-1-1-0 exhibited higher abundance in the severe proteinuric groups. These glycomic results revealed that differential O-glycan expressions in CKD progressions has the potential to define the mechanism of proteinuria in kidney disease and to identify potential therapeutic interventions.
Religion and spirituality in clinical practice: an exploration of comfort and discomfort among practitioners

This study explored whether license-holding mental health professionals exhibit comfort/discomfort in addressing religion and spirituality (RS) in practice. Through snowball sampling, 52 clinicians...
Chapter 22. Relationships in the Structure and Function of Cell Surface Receptors for Glycoprotein Hormones, Bacterial Toxins, and Interferon

Publisher Summary There is a structural and functional relationship in the mechanism by which glycoprotein hormones thyrotropin (TSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)], certain bacterial toxin, the antiviral protective agent, and and interferon transmit their message through the cell membrane. The change in membrane state expresses itself as a different exposure of cell surface determinants, including those important as receptors for other effectors of cell function and as a change in the electrochemical gradient across the membrane. Gangliosides are a family of glycolipids whose nomenclature is derived from the length of the oligosaccharide-core structure. Ganglioside confers hormone or toxin specificity through its oligosaccharide determinant. A protein of cholera toxins, carries information on its primary sequence necessary for the stimulation of the adenylate cyclase system. A TSH receptor defect in a rat thyroid tumor has been correlated with an alteration in the ganglioside content of the membranes of this tumor and with a defect in the biosynthetic enzymes concerned with the synthesis of the higher order gangliosides implicate as components of the TSH receptor structure. The ganglioside GM1 induces a conformational change in cholera toxin that cannot be duplicated by other gangliosides and cholera toxin interacts with thyroid plasma membranes. These interactions affect the ability of TSH both to bind to the membranes and to stimulate the adenylate cyclase activity of the membrane.
Traffic dynamics through human interaction: Reflections on some complex problems

Abstract A brief essay based on a discussion of some highlights in the development of traffic flow theory over the last thirty-five years. Of especial interest are flow and stability in single-lane car following, collective effects in a kinetic theory of vehicular traffic on multi-lane highways and in a two-fluid model of traffic in urban street networks. Remarks are made concerning modeling and the remarkable simplifications that often arise from collective effects. It is pointed out that vehicular traffic is an excellent example of a system involving human interaction with consequent behavioral effects that have been effectively described in mathematical terms.
Conservation Easements - A Troubled Adolescence

This article briefly describes conservation easements and the dramatic growth in the use of such easements over the past two and a half decades. The article then highlights some of the more troubling issues that have arisen as a result of the growth in the use of conservation easements, as well as proposals for reform. The article concludes on an optimistic note, asserting that if reforms can be successfully implemented, conservation easements can emerge from their troubled adolescence to take their appropriate adult role in the panoply of land conservation techniques, and may help lead us to a new paradigm of private property ownership.
The Effect of Aldosterone on Glycolysis in the Urinary Bladder of the Toad

Prolonged incubation with aldosterone causes an increase in the rate of sodium transport and in the rate of glycolysis in the urinary bladder of the toad (Bufo marinus) in vitro. When sodium transport was inhibited by ouabain after the effect of aldosterone was manifest, the rate of sodium transport as well as the rate of glycolysis fell to the same low value in aldosterone-treated tissue and in paired control tissue that had been incubated without hormone. When bladders were made anaerobic after the aldosterone effect was manifest, short circuit current fell in both preparations, but remained significantly higher in aldosterone-treated tissue than in paired control tissue. During anaerobiosis, the rate of lactate production was higher in aldosterone-treated tissue than in paired anaerobic control tissue. Thus the effect of aldosterone on glycolysis appears to be related to its effect on sodium transport and does not depend entirely upon oxidative metabolism. Measurement of the concentration of glycolytic intermediates and cofactors in tissue incubated with aldosterone indicated activation of phosphofructokinase and pyruvate kinase. There was no change in the concentration of adenosine mono-, di-, or triphosphate, or inorganic phosphate, but there was a fall in creatine phosphate and a rise in the concentration of creatine in aldosterone-treated tissue. This pattern is interpreted as indicating that the stimulation of sodium transport by aldosterone (or an aldosterone-induced protein) is a direct effect on sodium transport and not secondary to an effect of the hormone on energy production.
Managed health care: a review of the recent literature and suggestions for future research.

The United States health care system has, over the past decade, shifted from an almost exclusively indemnity insurance system to a managed care system. The managed care system is discussed in terms of its causes and major players. Given the importance of health care to the U.S. economy, an examination of the forces in this dynamic market is overdue.
Proactive conservancy in a contested milieu: from social mobilisation to community-led resource management in the Simeto Valley

Since Ostrom pioneered work on community-based forms of management of common-pool resource systems, the amount of research on the topic has increased. Action-oriented researchers have contributed to the debate identifying how, in specific problematic situations, communities can be helped to fill the gap between a disappointing reality and best planning practices and theories. The paper shows how, in a highly contested milieu challenged by the presence of organised-crime (Eastern Sicily, Italy), a collaborative and action-oriented approach to research helped the Simeto Valley community to evolve from a successful social mobilisation against the project of building a controversial waste-to-energy facility to an innovative and stable form of community-based natural resource management.
Vocal tract aerodynamics in /aCa/ utterances: simulations

Abstract Aerodynamic simulations of /aCa/ utterances were made using a low-frequency model for upper vocal tract airflow and a two-mass model for the voice source. These simulations helped increase insight into the results of an empirical study of flow during running speech. The various sources of flow, including wall compliance, were examined for their contributions to total flow from the mouth. The two-mass model was modified to allow for more natural glottal flow during abduction and adduction. Even with modifications the two-mass model was not sufficient to model source variations during running speech.
Multimodal interaction for distributed collaboration

We demonstrate a same-time different-place collaboration system for managing crisis situations using geospatial information. Our system enables distributed spatial decision-making by providing a multimodal interface to team members. Decision makers in front of large screen displays and/or desktop computers, and emergency responders in the field with tablet PCs can engage in collaborative activities for situation assessment and emergency response.
How to use diuretics in heart failure

Systemic and pulmonary congestion is a central aspect of both acute and chronic heart failure and directly leads to many of the clinical manifestations of these syndromes. Therefore, diuretic therapy to treat congestion plays a fundamental role in heart failure management. However, although diuretics are the most common drugs prescribed for heart failure, there is limited quality evidence to guide their use. Unlike other components of the heart failure armamentarium, such as β-blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, diuretics (with the exception of aldosterone antagonists) have not been shown to decrease heart failure progression or improve mortality. Additionally, some observational data suggest that diuretics may actually be harmful in heart failure, contributing to neurohormonal activation, renal dysfunction, and potentially mortality. Despite these concerns, diuretics remain ubiquitous in heart failure management because of the need to address symptoms of congestion and the lack of alternative strategies. Recently, the development of a variety of potential adjuncts or alternatives to diuretic therapy has suggested the need for an active reappraisal of diuretic therapy for heart failure. The main classes of diuretics are the loop diuretics, potassium-sparing diuretics, and thiazides. Loop diuretics, the mainstay of acute and chronic therapy for heart failure, are “threshold drugs”; therefore, an adequate dose to achieve a pharmacodynamic effect (ie, to increase urine output) must be prescribed for effective therapy. The minimum dose to achieve diuresis and manage congestion should be used to minimize adverse effects. For patients refractory to initial dosing of intravenous diuretics, options include dose escalation, use of continuous infusion rather than intermittent boluses, or combination therapy with the addition of a thiazide or thiazide-like diuretic (eg, metolazone). Management of chronic heart failure often includes patient-directed titration of diuretics based on changes in symptoms or body weight in an attempt to decrease hospitalizations, although the efficacy of this strategy has not been tested in well-designed trials. Aldosterone antagonists, which are used primarily as neurohormonal agents rather than for their diuretic effects, are indicated for patients with systolic failure and moderate to severe symptoms, as long as renal function and serum potassium are stable and monitored closely. All diuretic therapy requires careful monitoring of electrolytes and renal function. Whether newer modalities for managing congestion (vasopressin antagonists, adenosine A1 antagonists, and ultrafiltration therapy) will be an improvement over diuretic therapy will be determined by the results of multiple ongoing clinical trials.