cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vanilloid, purinergic and CCK receptors activate glutamate release on single neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarius centralis.

Baroreceptor inputs to nucleus of the tractus solitarius medialis (mNTS) neurons can be differentiated, among other features, by their response to vanilloid or purinergic agonists, active only on C- or A-fibers, respectively. A major aim of this study was to examine whether neurons of NTS centralis (cNTS), a subnucleus dominated by esophageal inputs, exhibit a similar dichotomy. Since it has been suggested that cholecystokinin (CCK), exerts its gastrointestinal (GI)-related effects via paracrine activation of vagal afferent C-fibers, we tested whether CCK-sensitive fibers impinging upon cNTS neurons are responsive to vanilloid but not purinergic agonists. Using whole cell patch-clamp recordings from cNTS, we recorded miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) to test the effects of the vanilloid agonist capsaicin, the purinergic agonist α,β-methylene-ATP (α,β-Met-ATP), and/or CCK-octapeptide (CCK-8s). α,β-Met-ATP, capsaicin; and CCK-8s increased EPSC frequency in 37, 71, and 46% of cNTS neurons, respectively. Approximately 30% of cNTS neurons were responsive to both CCK-8s and α,β-Met-ATP, to CCK-8s and capsaicin, or to α,β-Met-ATP and capsaicin, while 32% of neurons were responsive to all three agonists. All neurons responding to either α,β-Met-ATP or CCK-8s were also responsive to capsaicin. Perivagal capsaicin, which is supposed to induce a selective degeneration of C-fibers, decreased the number of cNTS neurons responding to capsaicin or CCK-8s but not those responding to α,β-Met-ATP. In summary, GI inputs to cNTS neurons cannot be distinguished on the basis of their selective responses to α,β-Met-ATP or capsaicin. Our data also indicate that CCK-8s increases glutamate release from purinergic and vanilloid responsive fibers impinging on cNTS neurons.
Marlet drivers and implementation options for 100-GBE transport over the WAN

Growth of IP-based traffic in enterprise, LAN, server, core routing and carrier/WAN transport has not only led core router links to exceed 10 Gb/s but in many cases to approach 100 Gb/s. In response, the IEEE 802.3 Working Group initiated the development of new standards for high-speed Ethernet at 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s. This article provides an overview of the market drivers for 100-Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE) in carrier and WAN applications, primarily driven by the need for greater trunk capacity to interconnect routers. The technology options for enabling WAN transport of 100 GbE over long-distance networks are described, along with standardization efforts and new technologies for cost-effective, reliable and managed transport. Finally, a pre-standard demonstration is presented of 100-Gb/s Ethernet transported over a 4000-km-long network.
Are unexpected positive dipstick urine bilirubin results clinically significant? A retrospective review.

Background: Urine-bilirubin measurement is common in urinalysis dipsticks, which are known to yield a high rate of false positive results. We evaluated the usefulness of this test after multiple physicians in our system reported that they do not act on positive dipstick urine bilirubin findings. Methods: We queried past records to determine how many samples with positive urine bilirubin results had associated abnormal results for liver function tests (LFTs) within 2 weeks before the positive urine bilirubin result. (LFTs included aspartate aminotransferase [AST], alanine transaminase [ALT], gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase [GGT], and total bilirubin.) We labeled positive results on these test as expected positives. We labeled the positive test results for samples from patients who had not had abnormal LFT results within 2 weeks before the current testing as unexpected positives. Results: During a 20-month period, we performed 241,929 urinebilirubin tests. Of these, 831 (0.3%) yielded positive results. Of these positives, 60% were from patients who had abnormal LFT results in the previous 2 weeks. The remaining 40% of positive results were deemed to be unexpected positives. Of these, 80% had had LFTs ordered within 2 weeks after the positive urine bilirubin results. A total of 85% of those LFTs yielded an abnormal result. Conclusion: In patients with an unexpected positive urine bilirubin test result, 85% had abnormal LFT results after their positive urine bilirubin result. However, these unexpected positives amounted to only 0.13% of all test results. Urine bilirubin does not appear to add significant information toward the diagnosis of most patients.
Environmental Correlates of Hermatypic Coral (Montastrea annularis) Growth on the East Flower Gardens Bank, Northwest Gulf of Mexico

Time series of annual linear growth increments from 12 Montastrea annularis (E. and S.) collected at the East Flower Gardens Bank reef in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico have a common pattern. This is best expressed in an index master chronology (average by year of the annual percentage deviations from the mean of each coral). Comparisons with time series of environmental data indicate that coral extension rates vary positively with seasonal (February through May4 months) surface water temperature and negatively with annual discharge of the Atchafalaya River. We propose that secular variations of water temperature and other parameters are the major long term controls of coral growth in the area. Our data do not support the view that sinking of the Flower Gardens reef, caused by catastrophic collapse of the underlying substrate, has been a prime influence on the corals.
Combined Experimental and Computational Studies on the Nature of Aromatic C-H Activation by Octahedral Ruthenium(II) Complexes: Evidence for σ-Bond Metathesis from Hammett Studies

Article discussing combined experimental and computational studies on the nature of aromatic C-H activation by octahedral ruthenium(II) complexes of the type TpRu(L)(NCMe)R [Tp = hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borate; R = alkyl or aryl; L = CO or PMe3].
Physical properties of spinel iron oxide thin films

This paper describes the complexity of the spinel iron oxides in thin-film configuration. First, the experimental deposition conditions are determined for the parameters of substrate temperature and oxygen flow such that only the “Fe3O4” phase is formed. Then a study is made of how the structural (grain size, lattice parameter, texture), magnetic (M), and optical (visible and infrared transmission) properties of the films depend on the deposition and postdeposition (air annealing) conditions. The experimental deposition region is defined where the films have the most similar physical properties to bulk Fe3O4 and subsequently, after annealing, to bulk gamma Fe2O3. Finally, a discussion is presented of a model that accounts for the anomalous, low values of the magnetic moment for the samples deposited at room temperature. The model proposes an overpopulation of the iron tetrahedral A sites.
Optimizing minimize periodic preventive maintenance model for series-parallel systems based on particle swarm optimization

This study minimizes the periodic preventive maintenance cost for a series-parallel system using the particle swam optimization (IPSO). The optimal maintenance periods for all components in the system are determined efficiently. The proposed IPSO considers maintainable properties of a seriesparallel system. The importance measure of components is utilized to evaluate the effects of components on system reliability when maintaining a component. Furthermore, an adjustment mechanism is developed to deal with the problem in which particles move into an infeasible area. A replacement mechanism is implemented that replaces the first n particles ranked in descending order of total maintenance cost with randomly generated particles in the feasible area. The purpose of doing so is to overcome the weakness in that a typical PSO is easily trapped in local solutions when optimizing a complex problem. Additionally, this study employs response surface methodology (RSM) via systematic parameters experiments to determine the optimal settings of IPSO parameters. Finally, a case demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed IPSO.
Factors Influencing the CNS Distribution of a Novel MEK-1/2 Inhibitor: Implications for Combination Therapy for Melanoma Brain Metastases

Brain metastases are a major cause of mortality in patients with advanced melanoma. Adequate brain distribution of targeted agents for melanoma will be critical for treatment success. Recently, improvement in overall survival led to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF) inhibitors, vemurafenib and dabrafenib, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 (MEK)-1/2 inhibitor, trametinib. However, brain metastases and emergence of resistance remain a significant problem. MEK-1/2 is downstream of BRAF in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, making it an attractive target to combat resistance. The recently approved combination of dabrafenib and trametinib has shown improvement in progression-free survival; however, adequate brain distribution of both compounds is required to effectively treat brain metastases. In previous studies, we found limited brain distribution of dabrafenib. The purpose of the current study was to investigate factors influencing the brain distribution of trametinib. In vitro studies indicated that trametinib is a substrate for both P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and Bcrp, efflux transporters found at the blood-brain barrier. In vivo studies in transgenic mouse models confirmed that P-gp plays an important role in restricting brain distribution of trametinib. The brain-to-plasma partition coefficient (AUCbrain/AUCplasma) was approximately 5-fold higher in Mdr1a/b(−/−) (P-gp knockout) and Mdr1a/b(−/−)Bcrp1(−/−) (triple knockout) mice when compared with wild-type and Bcrp1(−/−) (Bcrp knockout) mice. The brain distribution of trametinib was similar between the wild-type and Bcrp knockout mice. These results show that P-gp plays an important role in limiting brain distribution of trametinib and may have important implications for use of trametinib as single agent or in combination therapy for treatment of melanoma brain metastases.
Using Rotations to Obtain Compatibility Equations for Statically Indeterminate Trusses

This paper presents a new way of determining the compatibility conditions for statically indeterminate trusses. It is based on equations relating the angular displacements (rotations) of truss elements to the corresponding extensions obtained by requiring the displacements of the truss structure to be compatible, i.e., single valued. This new angular displacement method is likely to be most advantageous for planar trusses, but less likely so for three-dimensional structures.
Embedded mesh solutions of the Euler equation using a multiple-grid method

New developments make it now possible to obtain solutions to Euler equations for many problems on the basis of acceptable computing times. The possibility of an extension of these methods to more difficult flows and increasingly complex geometries can depend on obtaining suitable grid structures. Thus, an attractive approach to complex geometries involves the recasting of the problem into the framework of a multiple-grid structure. The discrete equations represented on the grid are solved as a simultaneous system. In the present investigation, this is accomplished with the aid of Ni's multiple-grid algorithm. The multiple-grid structure provided in this study represents the first step towards a completely general modular approach to the solution of the complete compressible flow problem. In the presented cases, a fine mesh resolution is obtained within the embedded mesh regions, while preserving the global coarse mesh convergence rates.
Complexity of Cancer Etiologies: Panel Discussion

I want to tell you of the image I had when Dr. Miller spoke of the mice. I can’t imagine the mouse in the maze with gridlock. The stresses will never be quite comparable to New York City!
Time Trends, Clinical Characteristics, and Risk Factors of Chronic Anal Fissure Among a National Cohort of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Chronic anal fissure (CAF) is a common problem that causes significant morbidity. Little is known about the risk factors of CAF among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To study the clinical characteristics and prevalence of CAF among a cohort of IBD patients. We performed a population-based study on IBD patients from the National Veterans Affairs administrative datasets from 1998 to 2011. IBD and AF were identified by ICD-9 diagnosis codes. We identified 60,376 patients with IBD between the ages of 18–90 years, 94 % males, 59 % diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC), and 88 % were Caucasians. The overall prevalence of CAF was 4 % for both males and females. African Americans (AA) were two times more likely to have CAF compared to Caucasians (8 vs. 4 %; OR 2.0, 95 % CI 1.6–20.2, p = 0.0001) or Hispanics (8 vs. 4.8 %; OR 2.1, 95 % CI 1.4–25.2, p = 0.0001). The prevalence of CAF significantly dropped with age from 7 % at age group 20–50 to 1.5 % at 60–90 (p = 0.0001). CD patients were two times more likely to have CAF than UC patients (6 vs. 3 %; OR 1.9, 95 % CI 1.5–18.2, p = 0.0001). The initial diagnosis of CAF occurred within 14 years after the initial diagnosis of IBD in 74.5 % patients. CAF is more prevalent among IBD than what is reported in the general population and diagnosed after the diagnosis of IBD. CAF is more prevalent among patients with CD, younger patients, and AA. The current results lay the groundwork for further outcome studies relate to anal fissure such as utilization, hospitalization, and cost.
Outsourcing the Law: History and the Disciplinary Limits of Constitutional Reasoning

Debates about the use of history in constitutional interpretation find their primary nourishment in the originalism debate. This has generated a vast amount of literature,1 but also narrowed the terms of the debate. Originalism is a normative commitment wrapped in a questionable methodological confidence. Regardless of the multiple forms originalism takes,2 originalists are confident that the meaning (in the sense of intention) that animated the framing of the Constitution can be ascertained and, indeed, that they can ascertain it. The debate has largely focused, then, on whether modern-day scholars and jurists can ascertain original historical meaning or, alternatively, whether they have gotten the history right in attempting to do so. This debate has not been static. Some originalists have conceded that the original intent of the Constitution’s Framers cannot be known, and they have embraced the new alternative, “public meaning” originalism, which seeks constitutional meaning in what would have generally been understood as the meaning of the text at the time of the Constitution’s framing.3 The scope of the relevant historical inquiry has accordingly widened. Further debate has emerged, including over whether the new originalism offers a real alternative to the old.4
Complete Dynamic Modelling of Flexible Joint Robots

Joint flexibility is common in industrial robots that have geared joints. In order to design a precision motion controller that compensates the effects of joint elasticity, an accurate dynamic model of flexible joint robots is required. The models that are commonly used ignore the gyroscopic interactions between the motors and links. In order to evaluate the influence of the ignored gyroscopic interaction, a complete dynamic model for flexible joint robots is derived in this paper. It is shown that when to realize high accuracy for high velocity trajectory tracking, the motor inertia is non-negligible compared to link inertia, and that the neglected interaction terms must be taken into account.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
The Impact of Intersection Design on the Driving Performance of Adults in the Recovery Phase of a Turn

Driving, an instrumental activity of daily living, requires safe person-environment interactions. The effectiveness (safety) of four United States Federal Highway Administration intersection design guidelines in the recovery phase of a turn was tested on older and younger adults. Using kinematics measures from an instrumented vehicle, drivers negotiating improved and unimproved intersections were examined in Gainesville, Florida.The findings from a 2 × 2 repeated measures ANOVA (within-subject variable = intersection condition: improved versus unimproved; between-subject variable = age: young versus old) yield support for three manoeuvres: extended receiving lane, right-turn channelisation with acceleration lane and left-turn offset, but not for no acute turn angle. One interaction effect (age x intersection) existed and age effects (favouring older drivers) appeared for three manoeuvres, yet showed little practical significance, suggesting that these design guidelines benefit older and younger drivers al...
A Method for Determining the Elastic Constants of a Cubic Crystal from Velocity Measurements in a Single Arbitrary Direction; Application to SrTiO3.

Three independent velocities of sound can be measured along any direction of propagation in a cubic crystal except the [100] and [111] directions. These three velocities suffice to determine the three elastic constants and for the [110] direction, the calculation of these constants is easy. For all other directions, the calculation is more difficult; the only existing method appears to be a perturbation technique developed by Neighbours. The present paper presents a method using exact equations and an iterative procedure to solve these equations and to calculate both the elastic constants and their standard deviations from the sound velocities and their standard deviations. The method is illustrated with new data on SrTiO3 which give c11=3.156±0.027, c12=1.027±0.027, c44= 1.215±0.006×1012 dynes/cm2 at 25 °C. The importance of including covariance terms in calculations of the standard deviations is emphasized.
21 CHILDREN'S HELMET SAFETY AND EQUESTRIAN RIDING IN RED LODGE, MT.

Purpose of Study Red Lodge is a unique mountain town that is bordered by a wide expanse of farm and ranch land. Horse-related activities, such as cattle drives, rodeo, 4H riding camps, and trail riding, are commonplace. After attending a 4H riding fair in which 75 young equestrian riders participated, it was noted that none of the riders wore a helmet. A community project was developed to introduce helmet safety awareness to children equestrian riders in Red Lodge. Methods Interviews with local physicians, the public health administrator, horsemanship trainers, and the local 4H coordinator helped identify the reasons for low percentage of helmet use and create a realistic goal for introduction of helmet safety to the community. A literature search using PubMed and Google was conducted to identify the potential dangers of equestrian riding and benefits of riding with a helmet. Results A pamphlet explaining the severity of risks of riding without a helmet, benefit of helmet use, and product purchase information was produced. The safety video Every Time, Every Ride was purchased. Safety pamphlets and film were given to the 4H supervisor to develop a helmet safety portion of the annual 3-day riding camp held in June. Pamphlets were also distributed to the Red Lodge Clinic and local horsemanship trainers for disbursement. Conclusion The town of Red Lodge was receptive to helmet safety for children; however, this project is only a beginning step. The biggest impact of this project will occur when incorporated in the 4H riding camp in June 2006.
Effects of low concentrations of styrene and mixed benzene in environmental air on reproductive health of male workers in an ethylene plant of a petrochemical corporation

Objective To survey the contamination condition of styrene and mixed benzene in environmental air of an ethylene plant of a petrochemical corporation,and to study the effects of long- term exposure to low concentrations of above- mentioned poisons on male workers' reproductive health. Methods Carbon nanotubes were used for sampling,and gas chromatographic analyzer was employed to monitor the concentrations of styrene and mixed benzene in environmental air of the corporation's ethylene plant. The levels of serum testosterone( TO),follicular stimulating hormone( FSH) and luteinizing hormone( LH) were determined for 120 exposed married male workers aged 23- 49 years and 80 male external controls. At the same time,10- item reproductive health questionnaire surveys were conducted among 600 married male workers accorded with the pair qualifications selected from the ethylene plant and 600 married male workers without occupational exposure to volatile organic solvents from a haven enterprise. Results Low concentrations of styrene and mixed benzene in environmental air of the petrochemical corporation's ethylene plant could be detected,and the monitoring results were significantly lower than the national standard( PC- TWA). The levels of serum TO,FSH and LH of the exposed group were all significantly lower than those of the control group( P 0. 05). The results of the questionnaire surveys showed that the incidences of reproductive health problems were significantly higher in the exposed group than in the control group( P 0. 05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that there was a linear correlation between sexual hormones( TO,FSH and LH) and styrene as well as mixed benzene,and the correlation coefficients were between 0.83 and 0. 89( all P 0. 05). Conclusions Long- term occupational exposure to low concentrations of styrene and mixed benzene in environmental air has adverse effects on male workers' reproductive health.
Approximate linear programming for networks

This paper uses approximate linear programming (ALP) to compute average cost bounds for queueing network control problems. Like most approximate dynamic programming (ADP) methods, ALP approximates the differential cost by a linear form. New types of approximating functions are identified that offer more accuracy than previous ALP studies or other performance bound methods. The structure of the infinite constraint set is exploited to reduce it to a more manageable set. When needed, constraint sampling and truncation methods are also developed. Numerical experiments show that the LPs using quadratic approximating functions can be easily solved on examples with up to 17 buffers. Using additional functions reduced the error to 1-5% at the cost of larger LPs. These ALPs were solved for systems with up to 6-11 buffers, depending on the functions used. The method computes bounds much faster than value iteration. It also gives some insights into policies. The ALPs do not scale to very large problems, but they offer more accurate bounds than other methods and the simplicity of just solving an LP. HighlightsNew approximating functions are proposed to use in approximate dynamic programming for queueing network control.Approximate linear programming (ALP) is used to obtain lower bounds on average cost.More tractable forms of the linear programs are found using constraint reduction.ALPs are solved for a variety of queueing networks with up to 11 buffers.Tests on smaller networks achieved an average cost bound within 1-5% of optimal.
Inflation and Distribution of Income and Wealth

Inquiries into the income distributive effects of inflation have been performed in several ways. Easiest is a count of assertions and allegations in the fashion of a public opinion poll. Obviously our task is not to conduct such a survey of opinion, for then we could dispense with the science of economics. Instead we take it to be that of reviewing briefly what presently validated economic theory implies about the wealth and income distributive effects, only, of inflation and to what extent we have empirical evidence supporting those implications.
Elastic Scattering of Polarized Tritons from 52Cr, 60Ni, 90Zr, 116Sn, and 208Pb

Angular distributions of the triton analyzing power at 15.0 MeV for five target nuclei of atomic masses 52, 60, 90, 116, and 208 are presented. These initial data were obtained to study the triton optical-model potential and to test the pre ications of the folding model1) for tritons.
The Use of Canonical Analysis to Compare Response Curves in Physiological Ecology

Summary Canonical analysis, a multivariate statistical technique, is described in simple terms and is suggested as a useful method for interpreting data in physiological ecology. An example illustrates how the technique simplifies an unwieldy mass of data by eliminating error variation and by concentrating only on differences among groups. Using canonical analysis to compare graphs of photo synthesis as a function of temperature for three lichens in the genus Cladonia shows that Cladonia uncialis photosynthesizes at a moderate rate over a wide range of temperatures and with little change in its optimal temperature over the season, while C. rangiferina and C. mitis photosynthesize at higher rates over narrower ranges of temperature and with optimal temperatures that vary over the season. A graph of canonical variates is very helpful in isolating from response curves the lichens' different adaptive strategies, including patterns that subjective analysis may miss.
Is mannitol the treatment of choice for patients with ciguatera fish poisoning

Context: Ciguatera fish poisoning arises primarily from consumption of carnivorous reef fish caught in tropical and sub-tropical waters. Ciguatoxins, a class of tasteless, heat-stable, polycyclic t...
A dyadic exercise intervention to reduce psychological distress among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual cancer survivors.

e17593 Background: Disparities in psychological distress exist between LGBT cancer survivors and their heterosexual counterparts. Both exercise and caregiver (CG) support reduce distress in heteros...
Fluorinated Analogs of Organosulfur Compounds from Garlic (Allium sativum): Synthesis, Chemistry and Anti-Angiogenesis and Antithrombotic Studies

We describe the synthesis, reactivity, and antithrombotic and anti-angiogenesis activity of difluoroallicin (S-(2-fluoroallyl) 2-fluoroprop-2-ene-1-sulfinothioate) and S-2-fluoro-2-propenyl-l-cysteine, both easily prepared from commercially available 3-chloro-2-fluoroprop-1-ene, as well as the synthesis of 1,2-bis(2-fluoroallyl)disulfane, 5-fluoro-3-(1-fluorovinyl)-3,4-dihydro-1,2-dithiin, trifluoroajoene ((E,Z)-1-(2-fluoro-3-((2-fluoroallyl)sulfinyl)prop-1-en-1-yl)-2-(2-fluoroallyl)disulfane), and a bis(2-fluoroallyl)polysulfane mixture. All tested organosulfur compounds demonstrated effective inhibition of either FGF or VEG-mediated angiogenesis (anti-angiogenesis activity) in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) or the mouse Matrigel® models. No embryo mortality was observed. Difluoroallicin demonstrated greater inhibition (p < 0.01) versus organosulfur compounds tested. Difluoroallicin demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of angiogenesis in the mouse Matrigel® model, with maximal inhibition at 0.01 mg/implant. Allicin and difluoroallicin showed an effective antiplatelet effect in suppressing platelet aggregation compared to other organosulfur compounds tested. In platelet/fibrin clotting (anti-coagulant activity), difluoroallicin showed concentration-dependent inhibition of clot strength compared to allicin and the other organosulfur compounds tested.
Territorial aggression in urban and rural Song Sparrows is correlated with corticosterone, but not testosterone.

Abstract Urban songbirds of several species more vigorously defend their territories in response to conspecific song playback than do their rural counterparts, but the hormonal basis of this behavioral difference is unclear. It is well established in vertebrates that both testosterone and corticosterone affect the intensity of territoriality. Previous studies have found no evidence that initial (i.e., immediately following territorial challenge, but prior to restraint) plasma testosterone accounts for the elevated territorial aggression of urban birds. Determining if testosterone still contributes to urban-rural differences in territoriality requires also assessing males' abilities to transiently increase plasma testosterone (in response to an injection of gonadotropin-releasing hormone). We tested whether these hormones are correlated with the territorial response to conspecific song playback in urban and rural male Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in Montgomery County, Virginia. We found that the elevated territorial aggression of urban sparrows was not related to variation in either initial plasma testosterone or the ability to transiently increase testosterone. In contrast, despite no overall habitat difference in initial corticosterone, levels of this hormone were positively correlated with territoriality in urban and rural sparrows. Furthermore, for a given level of corticosterone, urban sparrows were more territorially aggressive. Our findings suggest that initial corticosterone may either play a role in the regulation of persistent differences in territorial behavior between free-ranging urban and rural male Song Sparrows or be affected by the intensity of behavioral response to territorial challenge.
What counts? quantification, worker judgment, and divergence in child welfare decision making

In an effort to manage risk under chronic resource constraints, information uncertainty, and accountability pressures, U.S. child welfare organizations have embraced the structured decision-making ...
Extending the OpenSHMEM Analyzer to Perform Synchronization and Multi-valued Analysis

OpenSHMEM Analyzer (OSA) is a compiler-based tool that provides static analysis forOpenSHMEMprograms. It was developed with the intention of providing feedback to the users about semantics errors due to incorrect use of the OpenSHMEM API in their programs, thus making development of OpenSHMEMapplications an easier task for beginners as well as experienced programmers. In this paper we discuss the improvements to theOSA tool to perform parallel analysis to detect collective synchronization structure of a program. Synchronization is a critical aspect of all programming models and in OpenSHMEMit is the responsibility of the programmer to introduce synchronization calls to ensure the completion of communication among processing elements (PEs) to prevent use of old/incorrect data, avoid deadlocks and ensure data race free execution keeping in mind the semantics of OpenSHMEM library specification. Our analysis yields three tangible outputs: a detailed control flow graph (CFG) making all the OpenSHMEM calls used, a system dependence graph and a barrier tree. The barrier tree represents the synchronization structure of the programpresented in a simplisticmanner that enables visualization of the program's synchronization keeping in mind the concurrent nature of SPMD applications that use OpenSHMEM library calls. This provides a graphical representation of the synchronization calls in the order in which they appear at execution time and how the different PEs in OpenSHMEMmay encounter them based upon the different execution paths available in the program. Our results include the summarization of the analysis conducted within themiddle-endof a compiler and the improvementswe have done to the existing analysis to make it aware of the parallelism in the OpenSHMEM program.
Conclusion: Teacher-Scholar-Activists in the Era of Trump: Where Do We Go from Here?

During the 2017 American Political Science Association (APSA) annual meeting in San Francisco, the Caucus for New Political Science (CNPS) celebrated its fiftieth-year anniversary. CNPS held a seri...
Infections Increase the Risk of 30-Day Readmissions Among Stroke Survivors.

Background and Purpose— Hospitals are increasingly using 30-day readmission (30dRA) to define the quality of care and reimbursement. We hypothesized that common infections occurring during the stro...
Degree of error in Bayesian knowledge tracing estimates from differences in sample sizes

Bayesian knowledge tracing (BKT) is a knowledge inference model that underlies many modern adaptive learning systems. The primary goal of BKT is to predict the point at which a student has reached mastery of a particular skill. In this paper, we examine the degree to which changes in sample size influence the values of the parameters within BKT models, and the effect that these errors have on predictions of student mastery. We generate simulated data sets of student responses based on underlying BKT parameters and the degree of variance which they involve, and then fit new models to these data sets, and compared the error between the predicted parameters and the seed parameters. We discuss the implications of sample size in considering the trustworthiness of BKT parameters derived in learning settings and make recommendations for the number of data points that should be used in creating BKT models.
3D-Printed Gastric Resident Electronics

Long-term implantation of biomedical electronics into the human body enables advanced diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities. However, most long-term resident electronics devices require invasive procedures for implantation as well as a specialized receiver for communication. Here, a gastric resident electronic (GRE) system that leverages the anatomical space offered by the gastric environment to enable residence of an orally delivered platform of such devices within the human body is presented. The GRE is capable of directly interfacing with portable consumer personal electronics through Bluetooth, a widely adopted wireless protocol. In contrast to the passive day-long gastric residence achieved with prior ingestible electronics, advancement in multimaterial prototyping enables the GRE to reside in the hostile gastric environment for a maximum of 36 d and maintain ≈15 d of wireless electronics communications as evidenced by the studies in a porcine model. Indeed, the synergistic integration of reconfigurable gastric-residence structure, drug release modules, and wireless electronics could ultimately enable the next-generation remote diagnostic and automated therapeutic strategies.
Influence of ionic strength on the thermostability and flavor (allyl methyl disulfide) release profiles of calcium alginate microgels

Abstract Calcium alginate microgels are commonly used for encapsulation of biologically active agents intended for oral ingestion in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In the current study, the impact of ionic strength on the physical stability and flavor retention profile of a model hydrophobic flavor (allyl methyl disulfide, AMDS) loaded into calcium alginate microgels was investigated during simulated cooking and long-term storage. The influence of ionic strength was examined because many foods contain relatively high levels of salt, which may weaken the electrostatic interactions holding the calcium alginate microgels together. Our results showed that addition of NaCl (0–500 mM) promoted disintegration of the alginate microgels during simulated cooking from room temperature to boiling for 30 min, as well as during storage under wet conditions at ambient temperature for 7 days. Lipid droplets leaked from the microgels after heating or storage as indicated by turbidity, light scattering, and microscopy measurements with the effects becoming more pronounced at higher NaCl levels. Interestingly, the physical instability of the microgels had little impact on flavor retention during cooking. The insights gained from this study may be useful for designing and selecting appropriate microgels for different commercial applications.
Continuity of Care and Risk of Readmission: An Investigation into the Healthcare Journey of Heart Failure Patients

We investigate the association between continuity of care mechanisms and a patient's risk of readmission in the context of one chronic condition, heart failure. We define continuity of care as the level of consistency across patient care episodes. We dynamically measure continuity of individual referring provider; continuity of physical location, which links multiple individual providers; and continuity of Accountable Care Organization, which spans a variety of individual and institutional providers. We compile a unique large‐scale dataset that includes patient‐level claims, to follow heart failure patients throughout inpatient and outpatient settings in 2014. Our final sample covers 44,129 episodes of care for 3263 patients. Using a competitive‐risks survival model, we find that all three continuity mechanisms are associated with a patient's lower risk of readmission. This exploratory study contributes to operations management literature by identifying effective integration mechanisms in the setting of healthcare delivery. In addition, by providing the first quantitative evidence for the critical role of multiple simultaneous mechanisms in ensuring continuity of care, this study offers important preliminary insights for public policy efforts.
Near Misses in the Intraoperative Brain Suite

Despite current patient safety procedures and error reporting systems, errors in medicine still occur and commonly go unreported. A near miss is a type of medical error that is either corrected before it occurs or action is taken to prevent the mistake from causing harm to the patient. Analyzing these near miss scenarios can provide a wealth of educational and training opportunities; however, currently there are scarce examples of near misses available in the neurosurgical literature. The current neurosurgical literature provides near miss scenarios involving difficult intubation and extubation, incorrect drug administration, wrong-level spinal surgery, intraoperative macroglossia, and retained foreign bodies. Analysis of malpractice claims found that spinal neurosurgery had the second highest incidence of errors, outnumbered only by gastrointestinal surgery; clearly the neurosurgical field has yet to devise a system that allows for the consistent and accurate reporting of errors and near misses, considering the sensitive nature of this topic and scarcity of literature. Our systematic review intended to identify the aforementioned cases, discuss the nature of errors (human or device related), and summarize the preemptive measures meant to improve technology and surgical/anesthesia care performance. The neurosurgical community is working on creating limiting errors programs by adapting successful error reporting models.
Optimizing international otolaryngology service trips: Perceptions from learners versus volunteers.

Objectives/hypothesis Optimizing value of medical service trips (MSTs) requires alignment of the services provided with the needs and desires of hosts. Our aim was to understand which MST services Vietnamese otolaryngologists find most beneficial and contrast to those believed most important by volunteers. Study design Cross-sectional survey. Methods Otolaryngologists from a tertiary care institution travel to Vietnam yearly. In March 2018, surveys were distributed to Vietnamese otolaryngology faculty, residents, and US otolaryngology volunteers. The value of 11 MST-provided services were graded on a five-point Likert scale. Services included observing US otolaryngology volunteers perform surgery, US otolaryngology volunteer lectures, paper/electronic lecture material, instrument donation, minifellowships in the United States, among others. Respondents also voted for the single most important service. Responses were analyzed via Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance and Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results A total of 153 survey responses were recorded. There were 52% respondents who identified as male and 39% as female. The highest-valued services by Vietnamese otolaryngologists were didactic lectures given by US otolaryngology volunteers (4.6/5 ± 0.6), and reviewing cases with US otolaryngology volunteers in the clinic (4.4/5 ± 0.9). The least important services were instrument donation and seeing US otolaryngology volunteers assist with surgery (≤4.1/5). The highest-value services perceived by US otolaryngology volunteers were reviewing cases in the clinic and sponsoring minifellowships (4.9 ± 0.4). Vietnamese faculty perceived the single most important service to be US volunteer lectures (20/74 votes), whereas Vietnamese residents perceived minifellowships to be most important (13/34 votes) CONCLUSIONS: Vietnamese otolaryngologists desire an education-focused relationship with US otolaryngology volunteers, with didactic lectures and sponsored US fellowships having the highest value and performance of surgeries having less value. Level of evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 130:E305-E310, 2020.
CorrectMR: Authentication of Distributed SQL Execution on MapReduce

In this paper, we consider the SQL Selection-GroupBy-Aggregation (SGA) query evaluation on an untrusted MapReduce system in which mappers and reducers may return incorrect results. We design ${\sl CorrectMR}$ C o r r e c t M R , a system that supports efficient verification of result correctness for both intermediate and final results of SGA queries. ${\sl CorrectMR}$ C o r r e c t M R includes the design of Pedersen Merkle R-tree (PMR-tree), a new authenticated data structure (ADS). To enable efficient verification, ${\sl CorrectMR}$ C o r r e c t M R includes a distributed ADS construction mechanism that allows mappers/reducers to construct PMR-trees in parallel without a centralized party. ${\sl CorrectMR}$ C o r r e c t M R provides the following verification functionality: (1) correctness verification of PMR-trees by replication; (2) correctness verification of intermediate (final, resp.) query results by constructing local ( global , resp.) PMR-trees and verification objects. Our experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of ${\sl CorrectMR}$ C o r r e c t M R .
Alternative & complementary treatment for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Alternative medicine includes treatments that are not considered mainstream and is suggested to replace the accepted treatment, while complementary treatment is added to the conventional treatment. The estimated prevalence of their use in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is high, ranging between 21–60%. This review summarizes the data on these treatments and their efficacy in the setting of IBD.
Data-driven oriented optimization of resource allocation in the forging process using Bi-objective Evolutionary Algorithm

Abstract Resource allocation in the forging process of the steel production industry is an important element of the material supply in upstream processes, and the subsequent processing of semi-finished products downstream. However, the existing literature rarely discusses issues related to this problem. In this study, the information flow is built by referring to specifications and process logic, which is a kind of pre-processing in data analysis flow in order to break the initial barrier of resource allocation in forging. In addition, Bi-objective Evolutionary Algorithm (BOEA) is proposed to optimize the resource allocation in the forging process. Using the built information flow, the available multiple forging process resources can be effectively connected, and information of available resource combinations can be established for orders. Since real users have preferences for different objectives in practice, experiment results show that the proposed BOEA can deal with these preferences by effectively optimizing both the remnants (the remaining materials) and the execution cost, and the profit contribution is also proved by effective cost savings.
Glaze: Overlaying Occupied Spectrum with Downlink IoT Transmissions

Existing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions require expensive infrastructure for sending and receiving data. Emerging technologies such as ambient backscatter help fill this gap by enabling uplink communication for IoT devices. However, there is still no efficient solution to enable low-cost and low-power downlink communication for ambient backscatter systems. In this paper we present Glaze, a system that overlays data on existing wireless signals to create a new channel of downlink communication for IoT backscatter devices. In particular, Glaze uses a new technique that introduces small perturbations to existing signals to convey data. We evaluate the performance of Glaze and show how it can be used across wireless standards such as FM, TV, or Wi-Fi to communicate with devices with minimal impact on existing data transmissions.
Teaching NeuroImages: The dentate sign in subacute cerebellar ataxia: Metronidazole neurotoxicity.

A 79-year-old woman developed infectious periaortitis after an abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. A month later, she exhibited vertigo, dysarthria, and unsteady gait, progressing to inability to stand, painful paresthesia, and disorientation. Her examination showed dysmetria, dysdiadochokinesia, and severe cerebellar ataxia. She underwent extensive laboratory investigations, including autoimmune and paraneoplastic panels. Prominent dentate hyperintensity on T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences had been overlooked (figure). The cerebellar syndrome, and the abnormal dentate signal, resolved within 15 days from discontinuing metronidazole. Besides encephalopathy and polyneuropathy, metronidazole can induce subacute cerebellar ataxia by selectively affecting the dentate nucleus.1,2 Recognizing this imaging hallmark identifies a reversible iatrogenic complication and prevents unnecessary testing.
Politics as Pretext

One of the more convoluted dilemmas in election law involves distinguishing government actions motivated by race from those motivated by partisanship. In this Essay, prepared for the Howard Law Journal’s 15th Annual Wiley Branton Symposium, I argue that the race or party dilemma is simply a variant of a dilemma that law has confronted before. It is a dilemma about the extent of law’s — and by extension, society’s — comprehension and definition of “institutional” or “systemic” discrimination. In support of this claim, the Essay examines two doctrines in which the Supreme Court attended to institutional or systemic discrimination: the state action doctrine and the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s Title VII doctrine, as encapsulated in the Court’s 1971 decision, Griggs v. Duke Power Company. More precisely, it compares the assumptions and inferences about the nature of racial discrimination informing both the leading state action cases and Griggs, with those informing current election law doctrines in which the race or party distinction obtains. Ultimately, the Essay argues that if the elimination of institutional or systemic discrimination is the goal, then the stark dichotomy between race and partisanship found in election law doctrines should be dispensed with.
A fast constrained image segmentation algorithm

Abstract Normalized cut or Ncut has been one of the most widely used models for image processing. A constraint can also be included in the framework of Ncut to represent a priori information for an effective image segmentation. This results in the so-called constrained Ncut problem. In this paper we present an observation that the constrained Ncut problem can be formulated as an indefinite system of equations under a mild condition on targeted segmentation results. We then show that the indefinite system can be effectively handled by the Augmented Lagrangian Uzawa iterative method together with a classical Algebraic Multigrid Method. Both mathematically and numerically, we demonstrate that the Augmented Lagrangian Uzawa method achieves a solution in one iteration. We show how the proposed method can be efficiently applied for the newly tested recursive two-way Ncut with constraints, i.e., a new constrained sequential segmentation as well. A number of numerical experiments are presented to confirm our theory and to show the superiority of the proposed method. In particular, numerical experiments show that the speed of our algorithm can be orders of magnitude faster than the previously proposed Projected Power Method, a significant improvement of conventional image segmentation algorithms.