cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design effective voluntary medical incident reporting systems: a literature review

Voluntary medical incident reporting systems (VMIR) are an application of information technology to support medical errors reporting for health professionals and thus ultimately improve healthcare quality and patient safety. The overall goal of this paper was to investigate the usage and effective design of VMIR by literature review. We expected to uncover design potentials from prior studies by examining on both incident reports analysis and system design, by which to establish a user-centered design framework that integrates identified factors for advancing VMIR effectiveness and efficiency. All papers regarding voluntary reporting system were identified through systematic electronic database searches. Three eligibility criteria were applied: 1) voluntary programs; 2) information system; 3) medical incident/error reporting. Of 8 eligible articles identified, the main themes are about current systems' shortcomings on underreporting, report quality, standardized nomenclature/ taxonomy, communication, usability as well as reporting culture and environment. Eventually, all of identified concerns in the study will be addressed in a VMIR system prototyping process to attack the shortcomings aforementioned.
How to defend the phenomenology of attitudes

This paper develops a novel defense of the non-sensory phenomenology of desires, and more broadly, of attitudes. I argue that the way to defend this type of phenomenology is to: (i) offer a defense of the view that attitudes are states that realize the causal role of attitude types and (ii) argue that what realizes the causal role of attitudes are, in certain cases, states that possess non-sensory phenomenology. I carry out this approach with respect to desires by developing the view that desires play the causal role of motivating action, and in some cases, the states that play this role are states that possess the non-sensory phenomenology of attraction. I proceed to argue that if this way of defending the non-sensory phenomenology of desires, and more broadly, of attitudes, is unsuccessful, we should be eliminativists about this type of phenomenology.
Growing simpler decision trees to facilitate knowledge discovery

When using machine learning techniques for knowledge discovery, output that is comprehensible to a human is as important as predictive accuracy. We introduce a new algorithm, SET-GEN, that improves the comprehensibility of decision trees grown by standard C4.5 without reducing accuracy. It does this by using genetic search to select the set of input features C4.5 is allowed to use to build its tree. We test SET-GEN on a wide variety of real-world datasets and show that SET-GEN trees are significantly smaller and reference significantly fewer features than trees grown by C4.5 without using SET-GEN. Statistical significance tests show that the accuracies of SET-GEN'S trees are either not distinguishable from or are more accurate than those of the original C4.5 trees on all ten datasets tested.
Activity in LIP, But not V4, Matches Performance When Attention is Spread

The enhancement of neuronal responses in many visual areas while animals perform spatial attention tasks has widely been thought to be the neural correlate of visual attention, but it is unclear whether the presence or absence of this modulation contributes to our striking inability to notice changes in change blindness examples. We asked whether neuronal responses in visual area V4 and the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) in posterior parietal cortex could explain the limited ability of subjects to attend multiple items in a display. We trained animals to perform a change detection task in which they had to compare 2 arrays of stimuli separated briefly in time and found that each animal's performance decreased as function of set-size. Neuronal discriminability in V4 was consistent across set-sizes, but decreased for higher set-sizes in LIP. The introduction of a reward bias produced attentional enhancement in V4, but this could not explain the vast improvement in performance, whereas the enhancement in LIP responses could. We suggest that behavioral set-size effects and the marked improvement in performance with focused attention may not be related to response enhancement in V4 but, instead, may occur in or on the way to LIP.
PCSK9 inhibitors: a non-statin cholesterol-lowering treatment option

Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) plays a major role in the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Statins are the first-line treatment to lower LDL-C in patients with hypercholesterolemia; however, some high cardiovascular risk patients may have inadequate responses to statin therapy or are intolerant to statins, and may need additional and/or alternative non-statin therapies to further reduce their LDL-C levels. Monoclonal antibodies that inhibit proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a key regulator of circulating LDL-C levels, have received considerable attention as promising non-statin therapeutic options for the management of hypercholesterolemia. This review provides a brief overview of the history and science of PCSK9 inhibitors, focusing on two PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration: alirocumab and evolocumab. Recently released and forthcoming clinical trial data will be discussed, as well as the practical application of patient populations that may benefit from PCSK9 inhibitors. Finally, the recent expert recommendations regarding the use of PCSK9 inhibitors and other non-statin therapies to treat patients with inadequate LDL-C-lowering on statin therapy will be summarized.
Global Value Chains in Automobiles

This chapter explores global value chains (GVCs) in automobiles—a producer-driven high and medium-high tech capital-intensive industry with numerous backward and forward linkages for investment, production, trade, and employment—as an exemplar of the GVC revolution in the contemporary global economy. The chapter explains the evolution of the automobile industry, global patterns of assembler-component supplier dynamics, trends in global production and trade in automobiles and auto components, and the transformation of the auto industry under the emerging nexus of foreign direct investment (FDI)-multinational enterprises (MNEs)-GVCs in recent decades.
Rich Resource Exploitations, Resource Curses, and Resource Wars

Recognition that rich resources actually existed in Afghanistan had to await understandings developed in the US Department of State and Pentagon as they looked for an excuse to withdraw from their apparently unwinnable war. Ideas were also developed about resource blessings becoming instead a resource curse leading to future resource war. A new legal framework would also be needed to control resource extraction to protect the country. The chief resources of concern were the world-class Aynak copper deposit, the Hajigak iron, gold deposits, rare-earth deposits, chromite, and gemstones, all of which offer the potential to pull the country up economically by its own resource bootstraps, if only a reasonable peace could be maintained enough to accomplish the task in the midst of many poor government practices.
Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Pregnancy with Intravenous versus Oral Iron: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the benefits of intravenous (IV) iron in pregnancy. Study Design Systematic review was registered with PROSPERO and performed using PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched. Eleven RCTs, comparing IV to oral iron for treatment of iron-deficiency anemia in pregnancy, were included. Meta-analyses were performed with Stata software (College Station, TX), utilizing random effects model and method of DerSimonian and Laird. Outcomes were assessed by pooled odds ratios (OR) or pooled weighted mean difference (WMD). Sensitivity analyses were performed for heterogeneity. Results We found that pregnant women receiving IV iron, compared with oral iron, had the following benefits: (1) Achieved target hemoglobin more often, pooled OR 2.66 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.71–4.15), p Conclusion In this meta-analysis, IV iron is superior to oral iron for treatment of iron-deficiency anemia in pregnancy. Women receiving IV iron more often achieve desired hemoglobin targets, faster and with fewer side effects.
Touch gesture-based authentication on mobile devices: The effects of user posture, device size, configuration, and inter-session variability

Abstract Touch dynamics is a behavioral biometric that authenticates users by analyzing the characteristics of the touch gestures executed on mobile devices. Current research in this field has mostly focused on identifying the best algorithms and attributes to improve authentication performance. However, such systems must also be resilient against environmental variables. In this paper, we demonstrate that the user’s posture, device size and configuration have a significant impact on the performance of touch-based authentication systems. Our results indicate that authentication accuracy increases with the device size. Furthermore, we conclude that using a device’s 3-D orientation is necessary to attain better authentication performance. Our findings indicate that the features used in state-of-the-art touch-based authentication systems are insufficient to provide constant, reliable performance when any of the studied environmental variables change. With this paper, we release a new data set. Unlike the currently publicly available touch-based authentication datasets, our collection protocols control for all the studied variables. Our research study demonstrates threats to validity that noisy environmental conditions introduce to these currently available public datasets. This work is an extension of a previous publication. Presented user authentication approaches are unique and may have immediate benefits to the development of better touch-based authentication systems.
Plant Parasitic Nematodes in Hawaiian Agriculture

Hawaii’s diverse and mild climate allows for the cultivation of many crops. Different crops have been introduced and cultivated with each successive wave of immigrants to the islands. Many crop plants experienced an exponential growth in hectares only to face a decline in planted area as competition and economic factors drive production elsewhere. The introduction of each crop brought along associated nematode pests. These plant parasitic nematodes became established and are now endemic to the islands.
The "protected" glucose transport through the astrocytic endoplasmic reticulum is too slow to serve as a quantitatively-important highway for nutrient delivery.

A novel mechanism involving "protected glucose trafficking" through the lumen of the astrocytic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was proposed by Muller et al. (Current Biology 28:3481, 2018) and highlighted by Pellerin (Current Biology 28:R1258, 2018) as a potential route for astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttling. In their model, glucose is taken up from blood into astrocytic endfeet, phosphorylated, and some glucose-6-phosphate (Glc-6-P) is transported into the ER lumen where it is hydrolyzed by glucose-6-phosphatase-β to produce glucose. The glucose then diffuses within the ER lumen through peripheral astrocytic processes (PAPs) to regions in close proximity to synapses where it is released to cytoplasm and metabolized to lactate and neurotransmitter precursors that can be shuttled to neurons. Experimental evidence supports aspects of this model, but essential components were not established. This commentary critically evaluates the Muller et al. study and discusses its weaknesses and intriguing aspects. Most important, the rate-limiting step of the ER "protected highway," transport of Glc-6-P into the ER, is extremely slow, on the order of 550-3,700 times lower than glucose consumption by differentiated cultured astrocytes. Glucose diffusion through extracellular space to fuel neurons was not ruled out as an alternative mechanism. The ER glucose probes were not calibrated, and the ER luminal glucose reservoir size and flux of glucose through the ER are unknown. Effects of phosphatase knockdown are quite interesting and require further study. Glucose transport through a "protected intracellular highway" in the ER lumen is not quantitatively relevant to astrocytic glucose metabolism and is not energetically important.
The Impact of Online Teaching on Faculty Load – Revisited: Computing the Ideal Class Size for Traditional, Online, And Hybrid Courses

In 2006, The Impact of Online Teaching on Faculty Load: Computing the Ideal Class Size for Online Courses, shared the results of early research into the ideal class sizes for traditional (i.e., face-to-face) and online courses based on faculty load. The research was limited to a single instructional technology class taught at the graduate level in both formats. The initial study analyzed the impact of distance learning demands on faculty teaching load and computed the ideal class size for both traditional and online courses. It determined that the ideal class size for graduate courses in technology was 17 students for traditional and 12 students for the distance learning format. This article expands the initial research by examining two universities and their: (1) undergraduate, graduate (i.e., master's), and doctoral-level courses; (2) traditional, online, and hybrid formats; (3) both 8- and 15-week terms; and, (4) three academic disciplines of general psychology, education, and business. Ideal class sizes are presented for a wider range of post-secondary courses.
Identity and partisan reception in U.S. debates about gun violence

Courses: Argumentation, deliberation, public address, rhetorical criticism, rhetorical theory, social movements.Objectives: Using debates about the problem of gun violence as an example, this unit ...
A Numerical Method for Computing Viscous Shock Layers

We introduce a high resolution numerical scheme for the computation of viscous shock layers. The novel feature consists in the use of travelling wave solutions as approximating tools. This is a departure from previous methods which are based on splitting the viscous part from the hyperbolic part of the equation. We present stability results as well as numerical tests for one dimensional models.
Vending machine simulation

Vending Machine assignments provide good exercise for CS1 students in developing object oriented programs. These assignments have been around for many years, but most of them employ textual interfaces to test the students' implementations. A version using a graphical user interfaces with animation is presented in this paper. This assignment can be utilized in two different phases.
WeedGait: Unobtrusive Smartphone Sensing of Marijuana-Induced Gait impairment By Fusing Gait Cycle Segmentation and Neural Networks

The use of marijuana is now legal for medical purposes in 39 of the 50 United States. Eleven of these 39 states have also legalized marijuana for non-medical usage. Marijuana impairs the motor skills of users, making Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana (DUIM) a growing public health concern. There are currently few accessible and accurate methods to assess the impairment levels of drivers who have used marijuana. Current assessment methods include self-reports and testing urine, oral fluid, and blood. However, self-reports are often biased and biological tests are cumbersome to perform in situ. In this paper, we investigate whether dose-dependent changes in participants gait (walk) can be detected using data gathered from their smartphone motion sensors (accelerometer and gyroscope). We envision WeedGait, a smartphone sensing system that will assess the gait of marijuana users passively and warn them when they are too impaired to drive safely. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on using smartphones to assess marijuana-induced gait impairment. Gait data was collected from 10 subjects and pre-processing steps included low pass filtering, step cycle detection and segmentation, and normalization. We present a novel gait analysis approach that analyzes normalized, single-step segments to achieve higher accuracy than prior approaches. We compared the classification results of various machine and deep learning models, and found that Long Short Time Memory (LSTM) and Support Vector Machines performed best, discriminating the gait of subjects after smoking either marijuana with 3% or 7.2% THC versus smoking a placebo marijuana cigarette with an accuracy of 92.1%. These results suggest that smartphone-based marijuana testing is more accurate than urine-based tests but slightly less accurate than oral fluid based testing. Moreover, smartphone sensing of marijuana is completely passive and hence more convenient, which facilitates pervasive testing in natural settings and could have massive impact due to the near-ubiquity of smartphones.
Sedimentation Equilibria of Colloidal Particles

The purpose of this work was to find the distribution law of colloidal particles for sedimentation equilibrium in large cells, in which uniform concentrations had been observed by Burton, Porter and Laird. We took great care to eliminate effects which might prevent an equilibrium state. Gold particles prepared by the Zsigmondy nuclear method were allowed to settle several days in a quartz cell in a carefully controlled thermostat bath. The steady state was determined by taking visual ultra-microscopic counts on different days. The La Place-Perrin exponential law of distribution was found to hold as demanded by the kinetic theory.
A Reynolds Stress model with a new elliptic relaxation procedure for stratified flows

Abstract The paper formulates a new derivation procedure for the standard elliptic relaxation turbulence model in the context of stratified flows. It begins with the introduction of an additional length scale for the buoyancy. A Taylor series expansion of the terms in the integral for the pressure-strain correlation paves the way for the formulation of an equivalent length scale as an explicit function of the integral length scale and the buoyancy length scale. The advantages of such an approach over previous research in the literature are two-fold: firstly, the number of elliptic relaxation equations is reduced by at least half thus making the model more practical and secondly, the same set of equations is valid for both stable and unstable stratification. The study forsakes elliptic relaxation for the scalar fluxes due to its emphasis on reducing computational complexity. The model predictions agree well with Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) results available in the literature for both stably and unstably stratified flows at a range of stratification levels.
Nutrition Support After Cardiac Surgery: Lessons Learned From a Prospective Study

The importance of postoperative nutrition support (NS) has been poorly recognized in cardiac surgery. In this population, we aim to describe the delivery of NS, factors affecting calorie/protein delivery and NS-associated morbidity. From January 2015 to January 2017, we prospectively observed all cardiac surgery patients at a single institution who could not take nutrition orally, requiring postoperative NS, either enteral or parenteral, for the duration of NS up to 14 days. We compared outcomes to patients without NS and examined NS indications, factors affecting its delivery and its associated complications. Nine percent of patients (232/2603) required NS for a total of 1938 NS-days. The most common indication was mechanical ventilation. NS met 69% of daily caloric needs. On days when tube feeds (TFs) were held (mean of 13 hours), this decreased to 43%, compared to 96% when TFs were not held (P
Parent-Mediated Interventions for Children with ASD in Low-Resource Settings: a Scoping Review

As a global health concern, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is known to affect millions of people regardless of their demographics. Children with ASD and their families in many low-resource settings (LRS) around the globe are reported to experience a multitude of barriers. Parent-mediated interventions (PMI) may be a viable treatment model in these LRS. Therefore, a scoping review was conducted to provide an overview of PMI-related literature in LRS. A total of 12 studies representing 10 different countries were reviewed. This review revealed strategies used to train and coach parents, target skills for children, and parents’ perceptions toward PMI in LRS. It also revealed the critical need for additional considerations for interventions adapted in these parts of the world.
Geospatial coherence of surface-atmosphere fluxes in the upper Great Lakes region

Abstract Surface-atmosphere fluxes are known to vary at multiple time scales, but uncertainty is high as to how fluxes change spatially within regions. With an increase in the number of eddy covariance towers, we are now able to examine the geospatial coherence of ecosystem fluxes, using time-series correlation. Eighteen sites from Michigan and Wisconsin were used in this study, ranging from 100 m to 600 km apart. Surface-atmosphere fluxes from a six-month period were used to quantify spatial coherence on a pair-wise basis. Using geospatial statistics, carbon and sensible heat (H) fluxes were found to be 95% correlated directly outside of their flux footprint and 56% correlated up to a distance of ~35 km. Latent (LE) and momentum (τ) fluxes were less correlated, 83% directly outside of their flux footprint and 40% at a distance of ~130 km albeit, at a much larger spatial distance than for the carbon and sensible heat fluxes. All fluxes showed strong spectral resonance at diel and seasonal timescales, with 1-, 2- and 3-month periods being common modes of variability among H, LE, and τ fluxes. Results based on Empirical Orthogonal Function show distinct transitions of net ecosystem exchange from fall to winter before photosynthesis or respiration while H and τ do not exhibit coherent trends. This work demonstrates the potential of quantifying geospatial coherence of surface-atmosphere fluxes in the Midwestern United States, with the ability to predict fluxes beyond the spatial limit of a single flux tower footprint. Ultimately, expanding the flux measurements to larger scales would allow better spatial scaling of terrestrial surface-atmosphere fluxes between tower footprint and modeling or remote sensing scales.
Use of SOFA score in cardiac arrest research: A scoping review.

Abstract Background The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is a commonly used severity-of-illness score in cardiac arrest research. Due to its nature, the SOFA score often has missing data. How much data is missing and how that missing data is handled is unknown. Objectives We conducted a scoping review on cardiac arrest studies using SOFA, focusing on missing data. Data sources PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. Study selection All English-language peer-reviewed studies of cardiac arrest with SOFA as an outcome or exposure were included. Data extraction For each study, quantity of missing SOFA data, analytic strategy to handle missing SOFA variables, whether/to what degree mortality influenced the amount of missing SOFA scores), SOFA score modifications, and number of SOFA measurements was extracted. Data synthesis We included 66 studies published between 2006–2019. Five studies were randomized controlled trials, 26 were prospective cohort studies, and 25 were retrospective cohort studies. SOFA was used as an outcome in 36 (55%) and a primary outcome in 10 (15%). Nine studies (14%) mentioned the quantity of missing SOFA data, which ranged from 0 to 76% (median: 10% [IQR: 6%, 42%]). Twenty-seven (41%) studies reported a method to handle missing SOFA. The most common method used excluded subjects with missing data (81%). In the 50 studies using serial SOFA scores, 11 (22%) documented mortality prior to SOFA measurement; which ranged from 3% to 76% (median: 12% [IQR: 6%–35%]). Conclusions Missing data is common in cardiac arrest research using SOFA scores. Variability exists in reporting and handling missing SOFA variables.
Deep neural networks for radar micro-Doppler signature classification

In this chapter, we focus on the aspects of DNN design that are specific to radar micro-Doppler data. First, we will describe preprocessing steps applied to the raw complex time stream of RF measurements, the derivation of different data representations, and how this affects the subsequent DNN architecture used for classification and its performance. Next, methods for addressing the challenges involved in training DNNs for radar micro-Doppler classification will be presented. A performance comparison of several DNN architectures will be presented using benchmarking on a common micro-Doppler data set. Finally, current challenges and future directions for DNN research will be discussed.
Exercise, infection and rheumatic diseases: what do we know?

In recent years, there has been an increased focus on physical activity, a general term referring to bodily movement resulting in energy expenditure, and exercise, a form of physical activity which is structured, repetitive with an objective of promoting physical fitness for patients with rheumatic diseases. Guidelines for physical activity have been developed to promote health benefits from physical activity in the general population by the World Health Organization (WHO)1 and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),2 and by the EULAR for people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis.3 WHO, HHS and EULAR physical activity guidelines are consistent in recommending that adults should (1) move more and sit less throughout the day; (2) aim for at least 150–300 min a week of moderate-intensity or 75–150 min a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity; (3) engage in whole body muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week. These guidelines also support that additional health benefits are experienced by engaging in physical activity beyond the equivalent of 300 min of moderate-intensity physical activity a week. Patients with rheumatic diseases have much to gain by following these guidelines, especially in light of data indicating that they are less active compared with healthy controls.3 4 The physiological and health benefits of regular physical activity are numerous and have well-documented effects on aerobic capacity, strength and function, mental health, the ageing process, obesity, metabolic syndrome, risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cancer and cardiovascular disease, arthritis and bone and joint health.2 5 6 A recent focus has been to ‘move more and sit less’ due to the increasing awareness that the avoidance of sedentary behaviour is critical for long term health.2 7 8 Federal exercise guidelines now emphasise that exercise does not have to be prolonged to …
Hybrid Machine Vision Systems Achieve High-speed Video Rates with Object and Scene Tracking

Hybrid vision systems may enable real-time image processing in remote, power/energy-limited applications. We demonstrate 40k/17k frame-per-second self-motion inference rates with optical processing, which is 3 orders of magnitude faster than current all-electronic state-of-the-art.
Return to Sport Following Cartilage Treatment: Where Is the Evidence?

“When can I get back to sports?” One of the first questions an athlete asks after sustaining an articular cartilage injury of the knee. The answer to this question can be challenging as return-to-sport (RTS) is affected by multiple factors. Cartilage repair procedures such as microfracture, chondrocyte implantation, and osteochondral autograft and allograft have reported high percentages of athletes with good outcomes scores and the ability to return to sports. However, beside return to sports, the level of return as well as continued sports participation after return has to be considered when evaluating what technique to recommend for an athlete. Using available scientific data and an individualized approach that includes athlete-specific factors such as age, lesion characteristics, associated injuries, type of sports, and level of competition can help to optimize the long-term outcome in the athletic population. This chapter presents the growing body of literature focusing on the rate of returning athletes back to their sports after articular cartilage repair in the knee and discusses the relevant variations in surgical techniques and rehabilitation for each procedure.
Über den Hochtemperatur-Leitungsmechanismus thermisch Elektronen emittierender Oxyde

Hochtemperatur-Leitfahigkeitsmessungen an thermisch Elektronen emittierenden Stoffen wurden bisher uberwiegend am Barium-Strontium-Oxyd sowie am Bariumoxyd ausgefuhrt [1–5]. Neben ins Leitungsband angeregten Elektronen, die eine Kristalleitfahigkeit zur Folge haben, treten bei hohen Temperaturen freie emittierte Elektronen auserhalb des Kristallgitters auf. Das dies bei hochemittierenden Stoffen wie Barium-Strontium-Oxyd zu einer uber- wiegenden Leitung durch freie Elektronen in den Poren des Stoffes fuhren kann, haben Loosjes und Vink [1] erstmalig nachgewiesen. Paulisch und Rudolph [6] konnten kurzlich zeigen, das auch eine Leitung durch freie Elektronen im Ausenraum vor der Kathodenoberflache auftritt, die unter gewissen Umstanden gegenuber der Porenleitung und Kristalleitung ins Gewicht fallt.
Making Sense of Information Systems Security Standards

In the realm of information systems (IS) security, a plethora of standards have come into existence. Too many IS security standards have been proposed, which an organization could adopt to secure its information systems. On what criteria then an organization shall base its decision as to what standards need to be implemented? We address this concern employing basic economic concepts. The core argument of research presented in this paper is that an organization should incorporate a minimum set of standards to cover maximum IS security needs of an organization. The position of adopting a different IS security standard for every process in an organization defies the concept of efficiency.
Investing in forestry: opportunities and pitfalls of intensive plantations and other alternatives.

Abstract There is a surplus of wood growing in the world, despite generalizations about highly visible over-harvesting of some species and locations that suggests otherwise. Dealing with the oversupply by excluding natural forests from harvest and investing in intensive plantations is a risky strategy. Plantations require high financial investment, generally produce low quality wood, have a narrow “biological window” when they need harvesting, and put the entire investment at risk if this “window” is missed. Plantations could meet the world's wood needs on about ten percent of the current forest area; however, if the nonplantation forests were harvested, these natural forests could produce less expensive, higher quality timber than plantations and ruin the plantation investment. Alternative strategies for timber investment include increasing global wood demand, targeting high quality wood niches, and managing forests for other uses in addition to wood. Intensive plantations may be profitable in a few situ...
Forecasting Extreme Financial Risk

Extreme value statistics provides a practical, flexible, mathematically elegant framework in which to develop financial risk management tools that are consistent with empirical data. In this introductory survey, we discuss some of the basic tools including power law distributions, the peaks over thresholds estimation procedure and point processes.
iPads in the Music Library: Harmony or Dissonance?

Loanable technology in libraries is not a new phenomenon and libraries have for many years made laptops and other items available to students and faculty for their research and class projects. However, tablets are a newer technology that presents new challenges for libraries wishing to loan them to patrons. This article explores the process by which one music and performing arts library implemented a loanable iPad program. Issues regarding setup, device control and management, applications, marketing, and circulation procedures, policies and problems are presented and discussed.
Conversion of type II procollagen to collagen. Extracellular removal of the amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal extensions without a preferential sequence.

Type II procollagen, the precursor form of a genetically distinct type of collagen present in hyaline cartilages, has previously been shown to contain extension peptides both at the amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal ends of the molecule. Here, the synthesis of type II procollagen was studied by pulse-labeling chick embryo sterna with [14C]proline for 10 min, and the incorporation of radioactivity was then inhibited by the addition of cycloheximide and unlabeled proline. At the end of a 10-min pulse, most of the 14C-labeled protein was [14C]procollagen. If the incubation was continued for 30–120 min after the inhibition of the protein synthesis, an increasing fraction of [14C]procollagen was converted to [14C]collagen, as monitored by polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis in dodecylsulfate. Two intermediate forms containing either the amino-terminal or carboxy-terminal extension peptides were also detected. In further studies the site of the conversion process was examined by comparing the rate of conversion with the time required for secretion of the procollagen molecules out of the cells. Comparison of the time of conversion with the time of secretion, as estimated in intact cartilage by radioautographic techniques, or determined as secretion of hydroxy[14C]proline by matrix-free cartilage cells incubated under identical conditions, indicated that the secretion started significantly earlier than the conversion. Also, the conversion of the [14C]procollagen secreted by the matrix-free cartilage cells continued in the medium after separation of the cells by centrifugation. Furthermore, incubation of intact cartilages with α,α'-dipyridyl, L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, cis-4-hydroxy-L-proline, or colchicine, agents which, by independent mechanisms, delay the secretion of procollagen, also inhibited the conversion. The results suggest that the conversion of type II procollagen to collagen occurs in the extracellular space, the amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal extensions beind removed without a preferential sequence.
The effect of adrenocorticosteroid pretreatment on kinin system and coagulation response to septic shock in the baboon.

Abstract Baboons were subjected to lethal Escherichia coli septicemic shock, by injecting live organisms, with one group receiving pretreatment with 30 mg. per kilogram of methylprednisolone and the other group serving as untreated control animals. There was an early development of disseminated intravascular coagulation and kinin activation in both groups, with progressive cardiovascular collapse and death in all animals. The kinin precursor protein kininogen decreased to close to zero level. The difference between steroid-treated and nontreated groups was that plasma kallikrein levels declined significantly in the nontreated animals. Under the conditions of the study, no other effects of corticosteroid treatment of septic shock were observed.
Clinical outcomes following a trial of sertraline in rheumatoid arthritis

We report an open-label trial of sertraline in the treatment of major depression in 54 consecutive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder. We initially surveyed 628 RA outpatients with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and invited those with depression to be evaluated further and treated. Eighty-four RA patients reporting depressive symptoms agreed to participate in person, and 56 met the criteria for major depressive disorder. Of these 56 patients, 54 agreed to medication treatment and were enrolled in the study. Patients were also randomized to one of three psychological treatment conditions, but for this study, conditions were collapsed because previous research on this sample indicated no significant between-group differences in depression after treatment. Patients were assessed with the CES-D and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression after the intervention, at 6-month follow-up, and at 15-month follow-up. At the last follow-up, 41 patients remained for assessment. In this study, sertraline was found to be a safe and efficacious treatment of depression complicating RA.
Electrolytic Reduction of Low Molecular Weight Chlorinated Aliphatic Compounds: Structural and Thermodynamic Effects on Process Kinetics

A series of chlorinated low molecular weight alkanes and alkenes was transformed electrolytically using a porous nickel cathode at potentials from −0.3 to −1.4 V (versus standard hydrogen electrode). Kinetics were first-order with respect to the concentration of the halogenated targets. The dependence of the first-order rate constants on cathode potential followed the Butler−Volmer equation, modified to account for mass transfer resistance to reaction. The mass-transfer-limited rate constant for reaction of all species was about 1.55 L m-2 min-1. Log-transformed reaction rate constants for reduction of chlorinated alkanes, derived via experiments at the same cathode potential (Ec = −1.0 or −1.2 V vs SHE), were linearly related to carbon−halogen bond enthalpies, as expected based on a physical model that was developed from transition state theory. The chlorinated ethenes reacted much faster than predicted from bond enthalpy calculations and the alkane-based correlation, suggesting that alkenes are not tran...
Effect of Osteochondroma Location on Forearm Deformity in Patients With Multiple Hereditary Osteochondromatosis

Purpose Multiple hereditary osteochondromatosis (MHO) is an autosomal-dominant skeletal dysplasia that may result in forearm deformity. The purpose of this study was 2-fold: to describe the natural history of forearm deformity in patients with MHO, with particular attention to those who develop radial head dislocation, and to determine predictors of deformity. Methods We retrospectively reviewed charts of all patients with MHO evaluated at our institution. Patients with the presence of a radiographically visible osteochondroma in the forearm were divided into 5 groups or types based on location of the osteochondroma(s). Radiographic measurements included radial articular angle, percent ulnar variance, radial bow, radial length, ulnar length, and ulnar bow. The predictive values of each measure were statistically evaluated for each type with relation to radial head dislocation. Results Of 146 patients with MHO, 102 patients (70%) had forearm involvement. Appropriate anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were available on 48 patients (76 forearms). Average age at initial radiographic evaluation was 12 years (range, 2–18 y). Average follow-up period was 7 years (range 1–19 y). Thirteen forearms demonstrated radial head dislocation, with all but 1 reported in the type 1 limbs (solitary distal ulna osteochondroma). Radial head dislocation was noted in 34% (12/35 forearms) of type 1 limbs. Conclusions Forearms with isolated osteochondromas of the distal ulna are the ones most likely to develop radial head dislocation. Because the ulna growth is disproportionately less than radial growth, the soft tissues may act as a tether, linking the distal radius and ulna, and lead to radial head dislocation. Changes in radiographic measurements may predict limbs at risk for radial head dislocation. Type of study/level of evidence Diagnostic IV.
Observational study of Mallampati changes after prone spinal surgery

Abstract Study Objective To evaluate airway changes in patients undergoing surgery in the prone position. Design Single-arm observational study. Patients Patients between 18 to 65years old, scheduled for prone spinal surgery; 74 patients were enrolled and 54 patients were analyzed. Intervention The initial airway examination was graded according to the Samsoon and Young modification of the Mallampati classification (MMP). Airway photographs were obtained in a standardized manner and were repeated 20minutes after extubation. The photographs were then randomized. Measurements Subjects' age, gender, race, weight, duration of surgery, amount of crystalloid fluid given, and estimated blood loss were recorded. Three senior anesthesiologists who were blinded to the origin of the photographs analyzed and graded the airways. Main Results All statistical tests showed significance between preMMP and postMMP scores ( P Conclusion Modified Mallampati scores increased in the majority of patients after spinal surgery in the prone position.
Partners in caring: A state-funded primary care initiative for children

Improving access to health care for children is a growing concern. Health goals for the year 2000, both in the nation and in the state of Wisconsin, underscore the urgency of preventive care. The Partners in Caring program is a state-funded primary care initiative involving 13 suburban public health departments that provide preventive care to uninsured and underserved children in the participating communities of the consortium. This article describes the program during the first year of well child assessments, the role of the pediatric nurse practitioner, the impact of the program, and implications for nursing practice.
Effects of annealing on hydrogen microstructure in boron-doped and undoped rf-sputter-deposited amorphous silicon.

A detailed study of changes in hydrogen microstructure in rf-sputter-deposited undoped and boron-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon was undertaken. The boron-doped samples were prepared under identical conditions with the same hydrogen content, and then characterized by IR absorption and $^{1}\mathrm{H}$ NMR before and after annealing. It is found that an increase in the boron concentration leads to increased segregation of hydrogen. Annealing leads to evolution of the hydrogen microstructure. This change, however, depends on the boron content of the films. After a moderate anneal, the hydrogen microstructure is found to evolve to the same state and seems to be independent of the boron content of the films.
Development of the Islands of Calleja

Abstract The Islands of Calleja are aggregations of granule cells located in the basal forebrain of most vertebrate species. These cellular aggregations are typically classified as consisting of a single island, the insula magna located adjacent to the nucleus accumbens, and numerous small islands scattered among the dorsal aspect of the olfactory tubercle. While these structures have been widely described in adult, comparatively little is known about their development. Islands are first identifiable at P2–P4 with formation of the Insula Magna and several small aggregations in the caudolateral aspect of the basal forebrain. The Insula Magna fully forms at approximately P4, with continued formation of the small islands through P10 in a caudal to rostral gradient. Historically, there has been controversy as to whether neurons in the islands are GABAergic, due to limitations in resolving immunolabeling for GABA in the densely packed islands. We investigated the neurochemical identity of island cells by exploiting transgenic reporter mice expressing green fluorescent protein under the control of the GAD65 promoter. This demonstrated that the majority of neurons in the Islands of Calleja are GABAergic, primarily utilizing GAD65. Interestingly, several calcium binding protein expressing interneuron classes are present in the postnatal islands, but disappear with maturation. These findings show that the SVZ derived progenitors that migrate to the Islands of Calleja form different lineages to those destined for the olfactory bulbs, despite generation of both populations at the same age/location in the SVZ.
Integration of online digestion and electrolytic reduction with mass spectrometry for rapid disulfide-containing protein structural analysis.

Abstract Bottom-up structural analysis of disulfide-bond containing proteins usually involves time-consuming offline enzymatic digestion, chemical reduction and thiol protection prior to mass spectrometric detection, which takes many hours. This paper presents an expedited bottom-up approach, employing desorption electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) coupled with online pepsin digestion and online electrochemical reduction of disulfide bonds. Peptides are generated in high digestion yield as its precursor protein in acidic aqueous solution flows through a pepsin column, which can undergo direct electrolysis. The electrolytic behaviors of peptides, as online monitored by DESI-MS, suggest the presence or absence of disulfide bonds in the peptides, and also provide information to relate disulfide bond-containing peptide precursors to their corresponding reduced products. Furthermore, selective electrolysis simply using different reduction potentials can be adopted to generate either partially or fully reduced peptides to assist disulfide bond mapping. In addition, it turns out that DESI is suitable for ionizing peptides in water without organic solvent additives (organic solvent additives would not be compatible with the use of pepsin column). The feasibility of this method was demonstrated using insulin, a protein carrying three pairs of disulfide-bonds as an example, in which all disulfide bond linkages and most of the protein sequence were successfully determined. Strikingly, this method shortens the sample digestion, reduction and MS detection from hours to less than 7 min, which could be of high value in high-throughput proteomics research.
Asymptotic behavior of regression quantiles in non-stationary, dependent cases

Abstract Regression quantiles provide a natural and powerful approach for robust analysis of the general linear model. However, departures from independence and stationarity of the errors can have an extremely potent effect on statistical analysis. Here, a Bahadur representation for regression quantiles is provided for error processes which are highly non-stationary (i.e., for which there is a nonvanishing bias term) and which are close to being m-dependent. The conditions for dependence are based on a decomposition of Chanda, Puri, and Ruymgaart which covers linear processes; and, hence, includes ARMA processes.
Accounting for Movement between Childcare Classrooms: Does it Change Teacher Effects Interpretations?

Abstract Child care studies that have examined links between teachers' qualifications and children's outcomes often ignore teachers' and children's transitions between classrooms at a center throughout the day and only take into account head teacher qualifications. The objective of this investigation was to examine these traditional assumptions and to compare inferences made from these traditional models to methods accounting for transitions between classrooms and multiple teachers in a classroom. The study examined the receptive language, letter–word identification, and passage comprehension skills of 307 children enrolled in 49 community-based child care centers serving primarily low-income families in Colorado. Results suggest that nearly one-third of children and over 80% of teachers moved daily between classrooms. Findings also reveal that failure to account for daily transitions between classrooms can affect interpretations of the relationship between teacher qualifications and child outcomes, with the model accounting for movement providing significant improvements in model fit and inference.