cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cytochrome P-450-mediated covalent binding of hexachlorophene to rat tissue proteins.

Enzyme-mediated binding of radioactivity from hexachlorophene (2,29-[ 14 C]methylenebis[3,4,6-trichlorophenol], [ 14 C]HCP) to rat hepatic microsomes occurred in vitro in the presence of NADPH and oxygen, and was inhibited by nitrogen, reduced glutathione, cysteine, piperonyl butoxide, and 2-diethylaminoethyl 2,29-diphenylvalerate HCl (SKF 525-A). Binding was increased 2-fold by treatment of animals with phenobarbital (80 mg/kg intraperitoneally, daily for 3 days) and appeared to be dependent on the production of an active metabolite that was formed oxidatively in liver microsomes by a cytochrome P-450 mixed-function oxidase. Increased microsomal binding was not observed in animals treated with 3-methylcholanthrene (20 mg/kg intraperitoneally, daily for 2 days). Thin-layer chromatography of dinitrophenyl derivatives prepared from Pronase-digested microsomal protein and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis of solubilized microsomes indicated that the radiolabeled products were covalently bound to amino acid residues of microsomal protein. Raney nickel desulfunization of Pronase hydrolysates released several HCP metabolites that were apparently bound to sulfur-containing amino acids such as cysteine and homocysteine. The enhancement in binding of [ 14 C]HCP to microsomal protein in the presence of epoxide hydrase inhibitors was consistent with the formation of HCP arene oxides or structurally related species. After intraperitoneal and oral administration of [ 14 C]HCP (5 mg/kg) to male rats treated with phenobarbital, radiocarbon was covalently bound mainly to proteins of the liver, plasma, and kidney. Covalently bound radioactivity in the liver was associated primarily with proteins in the microsomal and 105,000 x g supernatant fractions. Lesser amounts were present in the nuclear-cell debris and mitochondrial fractions.
Physiology of aging.

Although physiological deterioration occurs with advancing adult age, the interpretation of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of age-changes in physiological processes are often complicated by confounders unrelated to aging. Age-associated disease is a major cause of physiological deterioration. To avoid this factor, only subjects free of discernible disease are used in many studies of what is referred to as "normal" aging. However, it is important to recognize that age-associated disease is not only a common occurrence but also an integral part of aging. Increasingly, gene-environment interactions are recognized as playing a major role in age-associated physiological deterioration, and there is great individual variation in both the rate of aging and the occurrence of age-associated physiological deterioration.
Locality in Scope Marking

We saw in Chapter II that Hindi finite complements constitute strong islands for wh extraction at LF. In this chapter I want to turn to scope marking, a structure which seems to defy this generalization. Briefly, a scope marking structure contains a wh in the matrix clause and a wh in the embedded clause but answers to the question specify values only for the embedded wh. It is generally believed that an answer specifies values for a wh expression only if it has matrix scope. Answers to scope marking structures are therefore taken to indicate that the scope of the embedded wh is extended by the matrix wh. Under this view the LF representation of scope marking is identical, in essential respects, to that of extraction. In this chapter I point out that the facts of Hindi preclude a syntactic analysis of scope marking in terms of extraction. I also show that scope marking and corresponding extraction structures are semantically distinct. The analysis I develop maintains the syntactic distinction between the two structures at all levels of syntactic representation. The matrix wh in a scope marking structure is interpreted as a regular wh quantifier and the embedded wh is interpreted in its own clause. The two are connected by the fact that the embedded clause serves as the restriction for matrix quantification.
A proposed model to study immunologic changes during chronic rhinosinusitis exacerbations: data from a pilot study.

BACKGROUND One way to gain insight into the pathophysiology of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is to study the immunologic changes that occur with exacerbation. This study describes the immunologic changes during CRS exacerbation METHODS We performed a prospective study to investigate the immunologic changes seen during exacerbation of CRS with nasal polyposis. We recruited adult subjects who met clinical criteria for CRS with sinus CT scan within the past 5 years with Lund-Mackay score of >5 and nasal polyps. Subjects underwent a baseline visit with collection of nasal secretion and nasal wash. With acute worsening of symptoms, subjects underwent 6 near-consecutive-day collections and one follow-up collection 2 weeks later. IL-6, IL-33, eosinophil major basic protein (MBP), eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and uric acid were measured on the nasal samples from each visit. RESULTS A total of 10 subjects were recruited and 9 had acute worsening of CRS during the study period. Eight of the nine subjects were women and ages ranged from 26 to 56 years. At baseline, most inflammatory parameters were low and eight of the nine subjects were on intranasal corticosteroids. Compared with baseline measurements, IL-6, MBP, MPO, EDN, and uric acid were significantly elevated during CRS exacerbation. Levels of IL-6 and MBP (r = 0.47) levels as well as IL-6 and MPO (r = 0.75) were both significantly correlated (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION Prospective study of CRS exacerbations is feasible and provides insights into the immunologic mechanisms of CRS.
Differential UWB Communications with Digital Multi-Carrier Modulation

As a high-rate alternative of impulse radio (IR) ultra-wideband (UWB) communications, analog and digital multi-carrier UWB radios with coherent detection have been introduced in [1], [7], [10]. In this paper, we investigate digital multi-carrier differential (MCD) modulation and demodulation schemes for UWB. In our approach, the differential encoding and decoding are carried out across multiple digital carriers in the frequency domain. Hence, channel estimation is bypassed by using neighboring carriers as reference carriers. Compared with the transmitted reference (TR) UWB which relies on delaying and correlating received segments in time domain, our MCD-UWB avoids the need for the analog delay element. In addition, our digital carrier based approach does not incur any spectrum expansion. We also show that our approach enables variable data rates, and remains operational even in the presence of severe inter-frame interference (IFI). In addition, the small spacing between differentially encoded carriers guarantees that the data rate is not limited by the channel coherence bandwidth. Simulations are also carried out to support our theoretical analysis.
Low Absolute Lymphocyte Count (ALC) at Diagnosis Is An IPSS-Independent Predictor of Poorer Survival in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

Background: The prognostic significance of lymphocyte counts and immune status has been carefully examined in lymphoid malignancies, but the importance of the lymphocyte count in chronic myeloid neoplasms is less clear. In a recent analysis of MDS cases associated with deletion of chromosome 5q (Holtan SG et al AmJHem 2008 Epub 12Jun), we observed that an ALC >1.2 × 109 cells/L at diagnosis is independently associated with improved survival. The prognostic value of ALC in MDS not associated with del(5q) is unknown. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients without del(5q) diagnosed with MDS at our institution over a 10-year period and gathered data on complete blood counts and leukocyte differentials, bone marrow findings, and clinical course. Inclusion criteria included diagnosis within 6 months prior to initial consultation at our institution and Results: The median age of the 503 included patients (360 M, 143 F) was 69 years (range 20–91). Median follow-up was 14 months, and 65% of patients were known to have died with an overall median survival of 36 months. Cytogenetic results as classified by the IPSS were favorable in 326 (65%) patients, intermediate in 112 (22%), and poor in 65 (13%). Both IPSS and WPSS accurately stratified patients, but the WPSS was better at identifying the lowest and highest risk patients. Survival by IPSS risk group was as follows: low-risk disease (n=95, median survival 41.8 months), intermediate-1 (n=285, 23.6 months), 106 with intermediate-2 (n=106, 14.1 months), and high-risk (n=17, 8.05 months). WPSS risk groups included very low risk (n=87; median survival 71.9 months), low risk (n=149, 28.8 months), intermediate risk (n=85, 19.3 months), high risk (n=143, 14.4 months), and very high risk (n=39, 8.8 months). In univariate analysis, factors associated with poorer survival included advanced age (p = 0.0012), higher-risk WHO subtype (p 10 g/dL (p 96 fl (p = 0.0493), ALC >1.2 × 109/L (p = 0.0449), and platelet count >100 × 109/L (p = 0.0046) were associated with improved survival. A high baseline ALC also maintained independent prognostic significance in a multivariate model against the IPSS (RR 0.746, 95% CI: 0.598, 0.933, p = 0.0099), and the raw WPSS score (RR 0.791, 95% CI 0.633, 0.987, p=0.037) but not the WPSS group (p=0.0794). There was no significant difference in the distribution of IPSS scores between the ALC >1.2 × 109 cells/L and the ALC ≤ 1.2 × 109 cells/L groups, although there were significantly more WPSS high risk patients in the low baseline ALC group (p = 0.0163). The creation of an ALC-modified IPSS score by adding 0.5 point for an ALC ≤ 1.2 × 109 cells/L resulted in a significant increase in median overall survival of the low risk group (41.8 months versus 66.1 months, p Conclusion: ALC is a novel and easily obtained prognostic marker in MDS that provides information complementary to existing prognostic scoring systems.
Three DIBELS Tasks vs. Three Informal Reading/Spelling Tasks: A Comparison of Predictive Validity.

Within a developmental framework, this study compared the predictive validity of three DIBELS tasks (phoneme segmentation fluency [PSF], nonsense word fluency [NWF], and oral reading fluency [ORF]) with that of three alternative tasks drawn from the field of reading (phonemic spelling [phSPEL], word recognition-timed [WR-t], and graded passage reading [grPASS), an oral reading fluency measure). Two cohorts of students (n = 319) were assessed with the aforementioned tasks multiple times across a four-year period—middle of kindergarten through end of third grade. The results were clear and closely replicated in the two cohorts: (a) phSPEL (moderate) outperformed DIBELS PSF (weak to moderate) in predicting future orthographic-unit processing; (b) WR-t (very strong) outperformed DIBELS NWF (moderate) in predicting future oral reading fluency; and (c) DIBELS ORF and grPASS were equally good predictors (moderately strong) of future reading comprehension.
Recommendations for the Reporting of Telemental Health (TMH) Literature Based on a Systematic Review of Clinical Video Teleconferencing (CVT) and Depression

Telemental health (TMH) is an established mode of providing mental health care at a distance using technology. As real-world applications of clinical video teleconferencing (CVT) have grown, so have articles reporting or reviewing CVT interventions. Key CVT information may be omitted, not adequately or uniformly described, thus jeopardizing comparability and reproducibility of CVT interventions. Detailed and uniform standards and terms for reporting CVT interventions are needed. We conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence base of secure CVT interventions for depression to assess the descriptors and terminology used to describe CVT interventions. In addition to identifying and to evaluating relevant articles, we identify and make best practice recommendations for the field to improve the reporting, comparability, and reproducibility of CVT interventions. Using comprehensive search strategies executed in several databases, we identified articles published through the end of 2014 that described the assessment and treatment of depression using secure CVT. We retrieved 5948 records. After removing duplicates and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria to abstracts and titles and full-text articles, 33 remained. Two thirds (66%) of these articles described psychiatric services. There were several deficits in the information provided about key CVT factors. Using a systematic review of CVT and depression as a base, we demonstrated that there is a clear need for standardization to describe CVT interventions in the literature. Standards to ensure key information is included, sufficiently and uniformly described that would increase the accurate reporting, comparability, and reproducibility of the CVT interventions and would benefit the field overall.
Molecular dynamics simulation of copper thin film growth on β-Ta (002) substrate

Tantalum can be used both as a diffusion barrier and an adhesion layer for copper metallization for semiconductor devices. Experiments show that β-Ta (200) substrates promote (111) texture growth in copper films. In this study, we first create an embedded atom method (EAM) Cu-Ta potential developed by our force matching method (FMM); then the potential is used for Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations of initial copper thin film growth on β-Ta substrates. Both Cu/Ta interfacial structures and copper film structure are investigated. The relevance to (111) texturing is discussed.
Effects of substrate, ant and fungal species on plant fiber degradation in a fungus-gardening ant symbiosis

Abstract Fungus-gardening or attine ants have outsourced most of their digestive function to a symbiotic fungus. The ants feed their fungus – essentially an external digestive organ – a variety of substrates of botanical origin, including fresh and dried flowers, leaves and insect frass (processed leaves). Although plant tissues are rich in fibers (lignocelluloses, hemicelluloses, pectins and starches) and the symbiotic fungus possesses the genetic and enzymatic machinery to metabolize these compounds, the highly derived attines, the leaf-cutters ( Atta and Acromyrmex ), are known to produce fiber-rich waste. While leaf-cutting ants are important consumers of primary plant tissue, there have been fewer studies on physiological activity of fungi grown by closely related ant species in the genus Trachymyrmex , which generally grow related species of fungi, have smaller colonies and consume a wider variety of fungal substrates in addition to fresh leaves and flowers. In this study, we measured the cellulase activity of the fungus-gardening ants Atta texana , Trachymyrmex arizonensis and T. septentrionalis . We then quantified fiber consumption of the fungus-gardening ants Trachymyrmex septentrionalis and Trachymyrmex arizonensis by comparing the amounts and percentages present in their food and in fungus garden refuse during a controlled feeding experiment over the span of several months. Finally, we compared waste composition of T. arizonensis colonies growing different fungal strains, because this species is known to cultivate multiple strains of Leucoagaricus in its native range. The leaf-cutting ant A. texana was found to have lower cellulytic activity than T. arizonensis or T. septentrionalis . Total lignocellulose and hemicellulose amounts were significantly lower in refuse piles than in the substrates fed to the Trachymyrmex colonies, thus these fibers were consumed by the fungal symbionts of these ant species. Although lignocellulose utilization was similar in two distinct fungal species grown by T. arizonensis colonies, hemicellulose utilization was higher in T. arizonensis colonies growing a derived leaf-cutting ant fungal symbiont than when growing a native type of symbiont. The results of this study demonstrate that fiber digestion in fungus-gardening ants is an outcome of ant-fungal interaction.
Subjective Perception of Color Differences Is Greater for Faces Than Non-Faces

Facial color is a significant source of social information, providing cues to physiological and psychological phenomena, such as physical health and emotion. On the basis that detecting such cues in others is advantageous, past work has shown that individuals detect color differences with more accuracy when viewing faces than non-faces. The current work aims to extend these findings by assessing the relative perceived magnitude of color differences between face and non-face stimuli. Across five experiments, participants simultaneously viewed pairs of faces versus non-faces with identical changes in amount of color, and were asked to choose the pair with the greater perceived color difference (Experiments 1–3) or to rate the magnitude of the color differences (Experiments 4a and 4b). The results indicated that participants were more likely to select the face stimuli and rate them as having greater color differences. This research supports the notion that color perception is enhanced for faces.
Sending the Message: Using Technology to Support Judicial Reporting of Lawyer Misconduct to State Disciplinary Agencies

Despite the strong public interest in effectively regulating lawyers, neither state nor federal courts have developed adequate policies and practices to ensure that lawyers’ misconduct during litigation proceedings is consistently reported to state disciplinary agencies. The reasons for this inconsistency—and the extent to which it should be considered an actual inadequacy and a problem calling for a rule-based solution—have been the subject of active scholarly discussion and debate. In practical terms, however, one contributing factor may be the inherent inefficiencies involved with the current reporting system. These inefficiencies in the judicial reporting process can be substantially mitigated—and regular reporting thereby supported—through the effective use of electronic database technology. For many years now, courts throughout the United States have been using computer and electronic technology, with its continually accelerating capabilities, to improve their processes for receiving, storing and transmitting judicial filings and records. This so-far successful experience with electronic filing and records creates an opportunity for courts to extend these technological breakthroughs to provide logistical support to a much improved system for judicial reporting of lawyer misconduct. To accomplish this objective, this Article proposes that state and federal court systems create electronic databases, accompanied and supported by uniform court procedural rules and policies, to receive and store judicial reports of litigation-related lawyer misconduct. These databases should be accessible to and searchable by state disciplinary agencies using universal licensing numbers assigned to individual lawyers. To set the stage for this proposal, Part I will examine the history and scope of the ethical code of conduct obligations of state and federal judges to report lawyer misconduct to an appropriate disciplinary authority, as well as reporting pursuant to procedural rules governing civil litigation. Part II will critique the adequacy of the judicial response to these existing reporting provisions, and consider the adverse potential consequences that underreporting may pose to the public interest and to the traditional judicial prerogatives in regulating the practice of law. Turning to the specifics of the proposed reforms, Part III will recommend how state and federal electronic databases accessible to and searchable by state disciplinary agencies should be organized and structured, and explain the criteria courts should use in deciding when a report is appropriate and how it should be categorized within the databases. Finally, Part IV will offer responses to several procedural questions relating to the implementation of these new reporting systems and databases.
Estimating parameters from rotating ring disc electrode measurements

Rotating ring disc electrode (RRDE) experiments are a classic tool for investigating kinetics of electrochemical reactions. Several standardized methods exist for extracting transport parameters and reaction rate constants using RRDE measurements. In this work, we compare some approximate solutions to the convective diffusion used popularly in the literature to a rigorous numerical solution of the Nernst–Planck equations coupled to the three dimensional flow problem. In light of these computational advancements, we explore design aspects of the RRDE that will help improve sensitivity of our parameter estimation procedure to experimental data. We use the oxygen reduction in acidic media involving three charge transfer reactions and a chemical reaction as an example, and identify ways to isolate reaction currents for the individual processes in order to accurately estimate the exchange current densities.
Simulations of rib-roughened rough-to-smooth turbulent channel flows

High-fidelity simulations of turbulent flow through a channel with a rough wall, followed by a smooth wall, demonstrate a high degree of non-equilibrium within the recovery region. In fact, the recovery of all the flow statistics studied is incomplete by the streamwise exit of the computational domain. Above a thin wall layer, turbulence intensities significantly higher than fully developed, smooth-wall levels persist in the developing region. Within the thin wall layer, the profile shapes for turbulence stresses recover very quickly and wall-normal locations of characteristic peaks are established. However, even in this thin layer, complete recovery of magnitudes of turbulence stresses is exceptionally slow. A similar initially swift but eventually incomplete and slow relaxation behaviour is also shown by the skin friction. Between the turbulence shear and streamwise stresses, the turbulence shear stress shows a comparatively quick rate of recovery above a thin wall layer. Over the developing smooth wall, the balance is not merely between fluxes due to pressure and shear stresses. Strong momentum fluxes, which are directly influenced by the upstream roughness size, contribute significantly to this balance. Approximate curve fits estimate the streamwise distance required by the outer peaks of Reynolds stresses to attain near-fully-developed levels at approximately , ranges from 284 to 1160 in the various simulations.
Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep of a collegiate student-athlete population.

Abstract Objective Poor and inadequate sleep negatively impact cognitive and physical functioning and may also affect sports performance. The study aim is to examine sleep quality, sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness in collegiate student-athletes across a wide range of sports. Design Questionnaire. Setting University setting. Participants 628 athletes across 29 varsity teams at Stanford University. Measurements Athletes completed a questionnaire inquiring about sleep quality via a modified Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness via Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep quality on campus and while traveling for competition was rated on a 10-point scale. Results Collegiate athletes were classified as poor sleepers (PSQI 5.38 ± 2.45), and 42.4% of athletes experience poor sleep quality (reporting PSQI global scores >5). Athletes reported lower sleep quality on campus than when traveling for competition (7.1 vs 7.6, P Conclusions Collegiate athletes frequently experience poor sleep quality, regularly obtain insufficient sleep, and commonly exhibit daytime sleepiness.
Comparison of steaks from Holstein and Simmental x Angus steers.

Boneless rib eye steaks from 32 Holstein and 32 Simmental x Angus steers were evaluated by 55 supermarket meat managers. Within breed, steers were divided into light or heavy initial weights. Within initial weight groups, steers were either implanted with Revalor or not implanted. Steers were slaughtered commercially when they reached a small degree of marbling, and rib eye steaks were cut from the carcass and stored at -20 degrees C until the day before evaluation. After thawing overnight in a 0 to 4 degrees C cooler, uncooked steaks were randomly assigned to positions on paper plates. Each of the 55 evaluators was then told to record whether each steak was from a Holstein or a traditional beef breed. The percentage identified correctly was 50.9 +/- .96, which was not different from being random. Steaks were later assigned to blocks of eight treatments and cooked to an internal temperature of 68 degrees C before six or seven participants evaluated steaks from each block. Sensory attributes were acceptable for all steaks. Steaks from Holstein steers generally were superior to those from Simmental x Angus steers. Steaks from steers with heavy initial weights generally were superior to steaks from steers with light initial weights. Steaks from steers implanted with Revalor were slightly less acceptable than steaks from unimplanted steers for several sensory attributes, but the difference in overall acceptability was minor and nonsignificant. All the differences were small, and may have limited commercial relevance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Introduction: Cellular Aspects of Immune Deficiency Diseases Involving B Cells

The discovery in 1952 of agammaglobulinemia in a boy having repeated bacterial infections was shortly followed by the demonstration that a scarcity of plasma cells and of lymphocytes in primary follicles and germinal centers was the cellular basis for the antibody deficiency (1). The succeeding two decades have witnessed the unfolding of a challenging array of immunodeficiencies in man and other species. Some of these have been reproduced experimentally and the interplay between natural and contrived models of immunodeficiency has contributed to an increased understanding of the cellular basis for development and function of the immune system. A prime example of the benefits accrued from the interplay is the knowledge that the immune system develops from hemopoietic stem cells directed along thymus (T) and bursal (B) avenues of lymphoid differentiation (2). Thus, immunodeficiencies can be broadly classified as errors of differentiation involving T cells, B cells, or stem cells (3). Beyond their theoretical importance, these concepts have led to successful repair of immunodeficiency diseases in a few individuals by bone marrow or thymus transplants, examples of which will be presented in this session.
Cauchy Singular Equations

We first define singular integral equations of both the first and second kinds (SKI and SK2) with the Cauchy kernel (also called Cauchy singular equations) and then present some useful numerical methods to solve them. These equations are encountered in many applications in aerodynamics, elasticity, and other areas.
Data as Word

The history of what we today call “data” extends to the ancient world, yet our contemporary terminology of “data” is modern. This article examines the history and significance of the term “data.” It argues that a historiography of data that is self-conscious about the historicity of its own categories can illuminate the specific materiality of data, distinct from the things in the world it claims to represent. This essay is part of a special issue entitled Histories of Data and the Database edited by Soraya de Chadarevian and Theodore M. Porter.
Maternal and Child Nutrition Status in Rural Communities of Kalalé District, Benin: The Relationship and Risk Factors:

Background:Double burden of malnutrition (DBM) is an emerging public health concern in urban Benin. However, an understanding of the phenomena in rural areas of the country is lacking.Objectives:To...
Multi-scale Model of Reactive Transport in Fractured Media: Diffusion Limitations on Rates

Reactive transport in fractured media is conceptualized as a multi-scale problem that couples a pore-scale component, which comprises Navier–Stokes flow, multi-component transport and aqueous equilibrium in the fracture, and a Darcy-scale component, which comprises multi-component diffusive transport, aqueous equilibrium and mineral reactions in the porous matrix. The model that implements this multi-scale approach builds on an existing pore-scale model and is able to capture complex fracture geometries with the embedded-boundary method. The embedded boundary acts as the interface between pore- and Darcy-scale domains. Adaptive mesh refinement is used to match resolutions at the interface while using coarser resolution away from the interface when not needed in the Darcy-scale domain. The new model is validated and then compared to results from a pore-scale model. Multi-scale model results are shown to be equivalent to pore-scale results under diffusion-controlled reactions in the pore scale and very fast dissolution in the Darcy scale. The multi-scale model provides a more accurate solution for a given resolution as it effectively sets the equilibrium concentrations as boundary conditions. The multi-scale model is capable to capture flow channelization observed in an experimental fractured core and, at the same time, limitations in the dissolution of calcite by diffusive transport through an altered porous layer. Discrepancies in effluent calcium concentrations between the multi-scale results and results from a reduced-dimension Darcy-scale model for this fractured core experiment are attributed to the solution of the flow field and the gradients that develop inside the fracture. Discrepancies in effluent magnesium concentrations exemplify the limitations of the approach because the multi-scale model requires calibration of reactive surface areas as Darcy-scale continuum models.
Atropine in the treatment of childhood myopia

The practice of using topical atropine to prevent the progression of myopia in children has been going on for decades in some Asian populations. The encouraging results obtained from Atropine for the treatment of childhood myopia (ATOM) studies and animal studies have created much interest among the practitioners regarding the use of atropine in preventing myopic progression. This review aims to summarize the major research works done on the subject and its implications in clinical practice.
Nearness and cooperative query answering

A cooperative query answering (CQA) system behaves like a conventional data-base system when queries can be answered normally, and tries to find an approximate answer when the original query condition cannot be matched exactly. One approach to locating approximate answers efficiently is to employ abstraction hierarchies. Using these hierarchies has several shortcomings, which are overcome by adding a measure of semantic nearness to the them. The measure indicates the semantic proximity between the values in the hierarchies. Thus, the focus of this research, the attribute abstraction hierarchy with nearness (AAH), is introduced. Two novel methods for the automatic construction and maintenance of attribute abstraction hierarchies are presented. Pattern-Based Knowledge Inference (PKI) is a technique for the construction of an initial abstraction hierarchy for each attribute based on patterns implicit in the current database instance. Dynamic Nearness (DN), improves the hierarchy by altering it based on query access patterns. The two methods can combine to form a new hierarchy with greater semantic utility. The generated hierarchies conform to a set of desirable properties and are well-suited for use in other applications requiring similar knowledge structures. User, domain and query contexts are applied to restrict search in the hierarchy and efficiently locate approximate query answers across several attributes. The approximate answers to the query are ordered based on relative nearness to the exact answer. Control structures added to CoBase, a working cooperative database, show how these context mechanisms work. For a relation with t tuples, the time complexity of PKI is $O(t\sp3)$ and the space complexity is linear. A simple extension improves time complexity to O(t log t), while retaining linear space complexity. Dynamic Nearness has linear time complexity, but space complexity is $O(t\sp2)$. Again, a simple extension retains the linear time complexity while improving the space complexity to linear as well. Both extensions achieve their improvements by selectively discarding less important knowledge. This streamlining of the knowledge base improves complexity at the expense of some loss of detail. Experimental results from an operational database used to plan transportation of forces and their support cargo demonstrate the utility and viability of PKI and DN. These results also demonstrate the improvement in computational complexity afforded by the extensions to both algorithms and show a dramatic improvement in time and space complexity with minimal loss of detail.
Cartan images and $$\ell $$ ℓ -torsion points of elliptic curves with rational j -invariant

Let $$\ell $$ be an odd prime and d a positive integer. We determine when there exists a degree-d number field K and an elliptic curve E / K with $$j(E)\in \mathbb {Q}\setminus \{0,1728\}$$ for which $$E(K)_\mathrm {tors}$$ contains a point of order $$\ell $$ , conditionally on a conjecture of Sutherland. We likewise determine when there exists such a pair (K, E) for which the image of the associated mod- $$\ell $$ Galois representation is contained in a Cartan subgroup or its normalizer. We do the same under the stronger assumption that E is defined over $$\mathbb {Q}$$ .
TCT-493 Epidemiology of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Complicating Non–ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Receiving Early Coronary Angiography

There are limited data on the epidemiology and outcomes of in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) complicating non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). This study sought to assess the temporal trends, predictors, and outcomes of IHCA in NSTEMI receiving early coronary angiography.
Atmospheric propagation of sub-picosecond pulses at 10 pm

This work presents the design and performance of a 10 pm sub-picosecond laser source. Initial measurements of high-intensity atmospheric propagation are also presented, which represent the first kilometer-range studies of ultrashort pulses in this wavelength regime.
Genetically Engineered Fish: Potential Impacts on Aquaculture, Biodiversity, and the Environment

Studies on transgenic fish for the aquaculture industry have focused on improving growth rates, enhancing disease resistance, altering body composition, acting as biological factories for medical proteins, and even altering temperature tolerance and coloration. The future impact of transgenesis will likely be quite large. Growth hormone-transgenic salmon has been approved for human consumption and has been introduced to the market in Canada and soon to the USA. This is the first human consumption of approved transgenic meat. Transgene insertion has many pleiotropic effects. Several studies have projected the fitness of transgenic fish to be low, in general, compared to non-transgenic and wild fish; thus, their environmental risk is likely low and they would have minimal, if any, long-term impact on ecosystems or biodiversity. However, there have been no actual escapements; thus, only projections of risk are available based on small-scale experiments and the characteristics of transgenic fish compared to controls. An active area of research is repressible transgenic sterilization and sterilization using gene editing, both of which would allow application of transgenic fish with only short-term consequences for ecosystems in the worst-case scenario. Transgenic technology could also be potentially used to reduce or eliminate populations of nuisance species.
Failure Is an Option: Impediments to Short Selling and Options Prices

Regulations allow market makers to short sell without borrowing stock, and the transactions of a major options market maker show that in most hard-to-borrow situations, it chooses not to borrow and instead fails to deliver stock to its buyers. A part of the value of failing passes through to options prices: when failing is cheaper than borrowing, the relation between borrowing costs and options prices is significantly weaker. The remaining value is profit to the market maker, and its ability to profit despite competition between market makers appears to result from the cost advantage of larger market makers. , Oxford University Press.
Continuous measurement of reactive oxygen species inside and outside of a residential house during summer.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an important contributor to adverse health effects associated with ambient air pollution. Despite infiltration of ROS from outdoors, and possible indoor sources (eg, combustion), there are limited data available on indoor ROS. In this study, part of the second phase of Air Composition and Reactivity from Outdoor aNd Indoor Mixing campaign (ACRONIM-2), we constructed and deployed an online, continuous, system to measure extracellular gas- and particle-phase ROS during summer in an unoccupied residence in St. Louis, MO, USA. Over a period of one week, we observed that the non-denuded outdoor ROS (representing particle-phase ROS and some gas-phase ROS) concentration ranged from 1 to 4 nmol/m3 (as H2 O2 ). Outdoor concentrations were highest in the afternoon, coincident with peak photochemistry periods. The indoor concentrations of particle-phase ROS were nearly equal to outdoor concentrations, regardless of window-opening status or air exchange rates. The indoor/outdoor ratio of non-denuded ROS (I/OROS ) was significantly less than 1 with windows open and even lower with windows closed. Combined, these observations suggest that gas-phase ROS are efficiently removed by interior building surfaces and that there may be an indoor source of particle-phase ROS.
Heat Stress and Kidney Function in Farmworkers in the US: A Scoping Review.

Objectives: Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) has been well described in farmworkers in Latin America. Agricultural workers in the United States (US) are exposed to similar hot and ...
Does the Rising Tide of OER Lift All Boats

While open education resources (OER) have grown in popularity over the last few years, few researchers have considered the benefits of OER adoption beyond student satisfaction and performance. Purs...
Daily adherence variability and psychosocial differences in adolescents with asthma: a pilot study.

Adolescents with asthma endorse psychosocial difficulties as barriers to inhaled corticosteroid adherence. This study examined patterns of variability in adherence and within-person associations of psychosocial variables with adherence across days. Participants included twenty-five adolescents (Mage = 14.7, SD = 1.68; 48% male) with persistent asthma. We measured adherence via electronic monitoring. Adolescents completed daily surveys measuring asthma symptoms, stress, mood, and affect. We examined within-person differences in the effect of symptoms and psychosocial variables on adherence. Adherence decreased over time. The addition of a random slope improved model fit (− 2ΔLL(1) = 9.36, p < .01). Greater asthma symptoms were significantly associated with higher adherence at the within-person level and with lower adherence between persons. We observed evidence of individual differences in the associations of stress and affect with adherence. Within-person, day-level fluctuations in adherence occur. Symptoms and psychosocial variables may influence adherence. Individually tailored interventions may effectively address nonadherence.
Impact of UNOS allocation policy changes on utilization and outcomes of patients bridged to heart transplant with intra-aortic balloon pump.

OBJECTIVE Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) support may improve the hemodynamic profiles of patients in cardiogenic shock and bridge patients to heart transplant. In 2018, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) introduced new heart allocation criteria that increased the waitlist status of patients with IABPs to Status 2. This study assesses the impact of this change on IABP use and outcomes of patients with IABPs. METHODS We queried the UNOS database for first adult heart transplant candidates with IABPs listed or transplanted before and after the UNOS policy changes (October 18, 2016-October 17, 2018, or October 18, 2018-September 4, 2020). We compared post-transplant survival and waitlist outcomes using Kaplan-Meier and Fine-Gray analyses. RESULTS Two thousand three hundred fifty-eight patients met inclusion criteria. Utilization of IABPs for hemodynamic support increased by 338% in the two years after the policy change. Patients with IABPs listed after the policy change were more likely to receive a transplant and were transplanted more quickly (p < .001). Posttransplant survival was comparable before and after the policy change (p = .056), but non-transplanted patients were more likely to be delisted post-policy change (p < .001). CONCLUSION The UNOS allocation criteria have benefited patients bridged with an IABP, given the higher transplant rate and shorter time to transplant.
Optical spectroscopy and tomography of oxygen delivery: From macro to micro and back (Presentation Video)

SPIE member David Boas (Massachusetts General Hospital) discusses techniques for understanding oxygen delivery through the vascular network, in "Optical Spectroscopy and Tomography of Oxygen Delivery: From Macro to Micro and Back." The use of microscopy coupled with modeling techniques to study the heterogeneous and complex oxygen delivery network and blood flow pattern in the vascular network is detailed.
Reliability of a 300-mm-compatible 3DI technology based on hybrid Cu-adhesive wafer bonding

A reliability evaluation of a 300-mm-compatible 3DI process is presented. The structure has tungsten through-Si-vias (TSVs), a hybrid Cu/adhesive bonding interface, and a post Si-thinning Cu BEOL. The interface bonding strength, deep thermal cycles test, temperature and humidity test, and ambient permeation oxidation all show favorable results, indicating the suitability of this technology for VLSI applications.
More Than a Piece of Paper? Protection Orders as a Resource for Battered Women

Nearly 2 million women are assaulted by a partner or ex-partner each year in the United States (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000). Intimate partner violence is a complex social problem rooted in structural gender inequality, but that affects individual women in different ways (e.g. Crenshaw, 1991; Stark 2008). Battered women actively seek help in ending the violence from both formal and informal sources (e.g. Campbell et al. 1998; Stark 2008; Sullivan and Bybee 1999). As part of this process, many battered women will apply for a protection order against their batterer; nearly 1 million such orders are issued every year (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000). This article reviews the research on the effectiveness of such orders, including access and enforcement, and provides suggestions for further research and policy improvements.
Social Perception and Alcohol Use Disorder: Preliminary Findings

A growing literature suggests that social perception deficits are evident in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Recent studies suggest differences between users of alcohol and control participants may persist with abstinence and may be associated with treatment outcomes. However, measurement of social perception has been inconsistent across studies, and replication studies are needed. Moreover, prior studies of social perception in this population have not thoroughly evaluated psychiatric symptoms, which are commonly comorbid with alcohol use disorder. The present study measured social perception performance and psychiatric symptoms in patients during early alcohol abstinence. Participants were 30 patients (10 women, 20 men) participating in an inpatient treatment program for alcohol use disorder. Across the sample, the subjects performed significantly worse than the normative sample on the Affect Naming and Pairs subtests, but not on the Prosody subtest. Depression scores were negatively associated w...
The conceptual programming environment, CP: reasoning representation using graph structures and operations

The conceptual programming environment, CP, developed at the Computing Research Laboratory (CRL), is a complete knowledge representation visual programming environment for use with both dynamic, open-world, problem solving (weak) applications and static, closed-world, scientific analysis (strong) applications. CP is based upon a graphical methodology of visualization derived from conceptual graph theory. The authors present the formal basis for the CP system, a discussion of the basic graph operations in the system, and display the visual elements of the environment. The CP environment is a 'working' representation system, and makes a good foundation for several applications. >
Pitheciids in fragmented habitats: Land cover change and its implications for conservation.

Pitheciids (Cacajao, Callicebus, Chiropotes, and Pithecia) have experienced habitat loss and fragmentation across their geographic range in South America. Some populations living in habitat fragments live in smaller groups, travel shorter distances, and consume items that are not regularly found in the diets of populations living in continuous habitat; however, these patterns are not consistent across species. I used the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to delineate the geographic range and conservation status of 43 pitheciid species. I calculated the amount of modified land cover within the range of each species, as well as the extent to which the remaining habitat exists in small fragments and the amount of forest lost from 2000 to 2012. Mean forest fragment size ranged from 12 to 12,027 ha, and mean forest loss from 2000 to 2012 ranged from 10.7% for Chiropotes to 0.9% for Pithecia. Critically Endangered and Endangered species represented 20.9% of the pitheciid species, and 46.5% of these species had population trends documented as decreasing. Total modified land cover was greatest for Callicebus species (18.0% of geographic range), followed by Chiropotes (13.8%), Pithecia (4.4%), and Cacajao (1.1%). Species of greater conservation concern had smaller geographic ranges, and a greater percentage of their range consisting of modified land cover than species of lower conservation concern. Species of greater conservation concern also had a greater percentage of forest lost from 2000 to 2012 and a smaller percentage of the remaining forest being protected. Most studies of pitheciids in fragments have concentrated on census data; the behavior of pitheciids in fragments has been examined for only 9 of the 43 species. Increased data on the responses of pitheciid species to forest loss and fragmentation are necessary in order to address pitheciid conservation, especially in areas undergoing severe habitat loss. Am. J. Primatol. 78:534–549, 2016. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
On: “THE RELATIVE PLACE OF EMPIRICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS OF GEOPHYSICAL INTERPRETATION”

The main contention of Mr. Weaver that mathematical and physical analysis of the problems involved should precede and accompany the field application of any geophysical method of prospecting rather than a purely empirical or trial-and-error approach is eminently sound, in my opinion. We may imagine where the electrical industry would be today if it had been forced to rely on trial-and-error methods of development rather than on the analysis of Kelvin, Maxwell, Heaviside, Steinmetz and their successors.