cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What is my program doing? program dynamics in programmer's terms

Programmers need to understand their systems. They need to understand how their systems work and why they fail; why they perform well or poorly, and when the systems are behaving abnormally. Much of this involves understanding the dynamic behavior of complex software systems. These systems can involve multiple processes and threads, thousands of classes, and millions of lines of code. These systems are designed to run continuously, often running for months at a time. We consider the problem of using dynamic analysis and visualization to help programmers achieve the necessary understanding. To be effective this needs to be done on running applications with minimal overhead and in the high-level terms programmers use to think about their system. After going over past efforts in this area we look at our current work and then present a number of challenges for the future.
Asymptotic analysis of unstable laser resonators with circular mirrors

The asymptotic methods developed by Horwitz for the analysis of strip unstable laser resonators are extended to resonators with circular mirrors. The theory is developed and shown to give results in good agreement with results obtained using more conventional techniques, with substantial savings in computer time. The interleaving of the resonator eigenvalue graphs is seen to persist, even at very large Fresnel numbers. Further applications of asymptotic resonator analysis are suggested.
Extracellular Dextran Hydrolase from Streptococcus mutans Strain 6715

Streptococcus mutans strain 6715 was shown to produce an extracellular dextranase with endohydrolytic α-(1→6)-glucan-6-glucanohydrolase activity. The enzyme degraded soluble polymers produced by some oral streptococci but did not disperse the streptococcal plaques tested. Enzyme levels in the culture supernatant were elevated in sucrose and sucrose plus glucose cultures but remained at basal levels in glucose and dextran plus glucose cultures.
Deriving Number-Needed-to-Treat and Number-Needed-to-Harm From the Saint I Trial Results

To the Editor: In their recent publication regarding interpretation of the Stroke-Acute Ischemic NXY Treatment (SAINT I) trial,1 Koziol and Feng use the definition, but not the derivation method, for number-needed-to-treat (NNT) and number-needed-to-harm (NNH) that was previously described.2 As a result they arrive at biologically untenable estimates of NNT and NNH. A challenge in deriving NNT and NNH values for ordinal scale responses is that parallel group trial results do not specify the within-patient correlation—the degree to which the rank order …
Unveiling the anti-inflammatory activity of Sutherlandia frutescens using murine macrophages

Sutherlandia frutescens is a botanical widely used in southern Africa for treatment of inflammatory and other conditions. Previously, an ethanolic extract of S. frutescens (SFE) has been shown to inhibit the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) by murine neurons and a microglia cell line (BV-2 cells). In this study we sought to confirm the anti-inflammatory activities of SFE on a widely used murine macrophage cell line (i.e., RAW 264.7 cells) and primary mouse macrophages. Furthermore, experiments were conducted to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of the flavonol and cycloartanol glycosides found in high quantities in S. frutescens. While the SFE exhibited anti-inflammatory activities upon murine macrophages similar to that reported with the microglia cell line, this effect does not appear to be mediated by sutherlandiosides or sutherlandins. In contrast, chlorophyll in our extracts appeared to be partly responsible for some of the activity observed in our macrophage-dependent screening assay.
Can this wait? Civil conflict negotiation and the content of ethnic identity

iv Acknowledgements v Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: The Negotiated Resolution of Ethnic Civil Conflict 4 Chapter 3: Case Selection 8 Case 1: Israel-Palestine 10 The Content of Jewish Israeli Identity 10 The Content of Palestinian Identity 16 Conflicting Elements of Identity in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 23 Case 2: Northern Ireland 24 The Content of Irish Catholic Identity 24 The Content of Ulster Protestant Identity 29 Conflicting Elements of Identity in the Northern Ireland Conflict 35 Chapter 4: Assessing the Cause of Ethnic Civil Conflict 36 Methodology 36 Case 1: A Historical Background to the Intifada 37 What Caused the Intifada? 45 Case 2: A Historical Background to the Troubles 48 What Caused the Troubles? 57 What Causes Ethnic Civil Conflict? 58 Chapter 5: Assessing the Impact of Inclusion Versus Postponement of Identity-Based Issues 60
“Born-Again Filipino”: Filipino American Identity and Asian Panethnicity

(1996). “Born-Again Filipino”: Filipino American Identity and Asian Panethnicity. Amerasia Journal: Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 31-54.
Healing Health Care Finances

Health care presents a daunting fiscal challenge in both advanced and emerging economies. This paper examines public spending pressures in health care over the next several decades and provides recommendations for reform. Using a methodology that improves upon earlier studies, the paper finds that public health spending will rise by 3 percent of GDP over the next 20 years in advanced economies, and in emerging economies, by 1 percent. For advanced economies, the most promising reforms to contain the spending of growth in an efficient and equitable manner involve a mix of budget controls and efficiency-enhancing reforms, including the introduction of market mechanisms and public management reforms that strengthen incentives for the provision of cost-effective care. Simulations show that these reforms could significantly reduce the fiscal burden of health care over the next 20 years. For emerging economies, the expansion of health care coverage should be based on a package of the most essential health services to ensure fiscal sustainability.
Effect of Superelastically Deforming NiTi Surface Microalloys on Fatigue Crack Nucleation in Copper

Alloys based on near-equiatomic NiTi are capable of thermoelastic martensite transformations which give rise to shape memory and superelasticity (pseudoplasticity) effects. In particular, at temperatures above Ms and Af but below Md, NiTi alloys can deform by mechanisms of stress-induced martensite transformation and may display large anelastic strains which involve little or no deformation by slip. Under these conditions, the strain-controlled fatigue resistance of NiTi alloys may be exceptionally high [1]. In contrast, fcc metals like copper will, during strain controlled fatigue, eventuate severe plastic strain localization in the form of persistent slip bands (PSBs), whose behavior at free surfaces is intimately associated with fatigue crack initiation [2]. It is well known that fatigue crack initiation in fcc metals can be delayed by modifying surface-breaking PSB structure or environment [3,4]. However, any attempt to strengthen the surface region in order to impede surface expression of persistent slip bands must contend with the large subsurface strain localizations enforced by the PSBs, which subject the film to strain cycling at roughly the characteristic PSB shear strain amplitude. Thermoelastic nickel-titanium alloys, capable of pseudoplastic straining, may be uniquely suited to the role of surface protection in situations where fatigue crack initiation is associated with PSB interaction with the external environment. In the present work, thin surface microalloys of NiTi, produced by ion sputtering, have been applied to polycrystalline copper fatigue specimens that were subsequently subjected to both monotonic loading, and fatigue under plastic strain control to produce mature PSB structures in the bulk material. Optical and scanning electron microscopy studies are described which assess the effect of the NiTi surface microalloy on the behavior of PSBs in the near surface region, and the attendant effect of the films on surface behavior of persistent slip bands. Although the results are incomplete with respect to the effects of the film on fatigue crack initiation, it has been shown for the first time that martensite transformation can be stress-induced (at temperatures above Ms) in a thin NiTi film on a plastically deforming substrate. This finding augurs well for the potential of such films to effectively suppress slip band penetration during low cycle fatigue.
Combining Nonlinear Modal Analysis Code with NASTRAN

This proceeding paper presents the first step towards integrating NASTRAN based finite element software with leading edge research in nonlinear modal analysis of aerospace structures subjected to random pressure fluctuations. The exceptional numerical capabilities of the NASTRAN are used in order to reduce the computational time and increase the mesh size of the existing “in-house” nonlinear finite element code. The new numerical enhancement permits to study more complex problems that were previously limited to simple geometries and boundary conditions. The newly developed solution procedure for the analysis of the nonlinear response of flat panels subjected to uniform random loading is analyzed for a 3×3 bay-panel. Results obtained for up to thirty modes for more than two seconds are encouraging since they indicate that for the first time a viable procedure for the random nonlinear analysis of multiple bay-panels is possible.
Response of Larval and Adult Obliquebanded Leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) to Selected Insecticides

Obliquebanded leafroller, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris), larvae from a commercial apple orchard in western New York State were 36.8-fold, 2.5-fold, and 5.2-fold more tolerant to azinphosmethyl, chlorpyrifos, and esfenvalerate, respectively, when compared with larvae collected from untreated habitats. However, this relationship was not the same for male and female moths from the same locations treated with the same insecticides. Female moths were more tolerant to all insecticides than were males. Field applications of azinphosmethyl and chlorpyrifos did not reduce fruit damage at harvest compared with the untreated control. However, only 3% fruit damage occurred in plots treated with esfenvalerate. These results suggest that larvae in the commercial apple orchards in western New York are resistant to azinphosmethyl and chlorpyrifos. Despite the 5.2-fold resistance level recorded for esfenvalerate, field applications of this insecticide still provide commercially acceptable control.
Patterns of luteinizing hormone in serum following administration of stalk-median eminence extracts to rhesus monkeys.

SummaryConcentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) were determined in serum samples collected from the femoral vein of rhesus monkeys at 5-15-min-intervals following administration of ovine stalk-median eminence extract (SMEE). Following iv injections of .02-.32 eq SMEE, a dose-related response was observed in serum LH. A marked increase in LH of 3-50 × baseline occurred within 5 min of SMEE injection. This rise in serum LH returned to baseline within 60-90 min. Chronic iv infusion of SMEE for 5-6.5 hr elicited an immediate rise in serum LH and a plateau which lasted until the infusion ceased. The increased concentrations of serum LH prompted by equivalent dosages of SMEE given at Days 5-7, 9-13, or 19-23 of the menstrual cycle or following injection of 0.5 mg of progesterone sc on days 6-12 were comparable. Antiestrogen, U-11, 100A injected sc at 0.5 mg daily on days 7-12, significantly reduced the LH released by SMEE injections. The decreased response to SMEE stimulus following antiestrogen, but not prog...
Decay of Compressible Homogeneous Turbulence with Multi-temperature Non-equilibrium

We study the eects of the rotational-translational energy exchange on the compressible decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence (DHIT) in three dimensions through direct numerical simulations. We use the gas-kinetic scheme coupled with multi-temperature non-equilibrium based on the Jeans-Landau-Teller model. We investigate the eects of the relaxation time of rotational temperature, ZR, and the initial ratio of the rotational and translational temperatures, TR0/TL0, on the dynamics of various turbulence statistics including the kinetic energy K(t), the dissipation rate "(t), the root-mean-square of the velocity divergence 0 (t), the skewness Su(t) and the flatness Fu(t) of the velocity derivatives, and the probability distribution functions of the normal upstream shock Mach number Ma? and the shocklet strength . The larger ZR is, the faster the compressibility decays after a short initial time. Similarly, the higher the initial energy ratio TR0/TL0, the weaker compressibility in the flow. We also observe that the multi-temperature model does not aect the self-similarities satisfied by the PDFs of Ma ? and , which appear to be a robust feature of the compressible DHIT.
The Relationship Between Self-Concept, Ability, and Academic Programming Among Twice-Exceptional Youth

Researchers investigated the self-concept profiles of twice-exceptional students in relationship to their cognitive ability and participation in educational services. All subjects (N = 64) had high ability (IQ score at or above the 90th percentile) and were diagnosed with either an autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 53) or specific learning disability (SLD; n = 11). Self-concept and ability measures were administered as a part of comprehensive evaluations to assess for co-existing high ability and disability. Despite the presence of a disability, overall self-concept profiles were in the average range, suggesting either co-occurring high ability serves as a protective mechanism or a possible positive illusory bias among participants. There was no relationship between ability, educational services, and self-concept, implying that high cognitive ability and related educational interventions are independent of how twice-exceptional students feel about themselves. Findings raise questions about the precision ...
Ambient temperature treatment of low strength wastewater using anaerobic sequencing batch reactor

Low strength wastewater having chemical oxygen demands (COD) concentrations of 1000, 800, 600 and 400mg/l were treated at 35, 25, 20 and 15iC using four anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBRs). Reactor 1 was operated at hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 48h, reactor 2 at 24h HRT, reactor 3 at 16h HRT and reactor 4 at 12h HRT. 80 to 99% soluble COD was removed at the various operational conditions, except during 15iC treatment of 1000 and 800mg/l COD wastewater at 12h HRT and 1000mg/l COD wastewater at 16h HRT, where excessive loss of biological solids occurred. The ASBR process can be an effective process for the treatment of low concentrated wastewaters which are usually treated aerobically with large amount of sludge production and higher energy expenditures.
Platelet Function and Valproate

The role of arachidonate metabolites in valproate-induced platelet dysfunction and hemorrhagic diathesis was investigated by ex vivo methods at the Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Medical University, Szeged, Hungary.
Wnting Out Ocular Neovascularization Using Nanoparticle Delivery of Very-Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor Extracellular Domain as Wnt Pathway Inhibitor in the Retina

Although angiogenesis is a very important part of normal blood vessel physiology and repair, it can go awry, leading to pathological neovascularization. This is an especially difficult problem when involving the eye where aberrant blood vessel growth can lead to irreversible vision loss. Thus, it is not surprising that neovascularization is of major concern in several ocular pathologies, including retinopathy of prematurity, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and corneal injury. Recent success with using anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody treatment for neovascularization and macular edema1–3 further confirms that blocking VEGF overproduction is promising therapeutic direction. However, several concerns remain, including that VEGF is an important trophic factor in the retina and specifically an endothelial cell survival factor. Although anti-VEGF therapy works well as a short-term approach, it may not be a viable long-term solution. Moreover, >40% of patients are …
Research Needs and Questions

Designing your project is one of the most important steps in the research process. This chapter provides you with the steps that are necessary to start your research project. It begins with choosing a topic, identifying a set of well-developed research questions, and identifying a research purpose, then guides you through this process.
Sinonasal Tract – Anatomy and Histology

One needs constant anatomic confirmation to correctly navigate “the head and neck”; perhaps the idea that “anatomy is destiny” rings truest here. A differential diagnosis can vary according to the anatomic subsite. Tumor staging for sinonasal and nasopharyngeal malignancies differs. Get to know how to recognize the different histologies in the external nose and sinonasal tract.
Acoustic Analysis for Individual’s Voice From Uttarakhand

The aim of the present study is to develop normative value of acoustical analysis for individual’s voice from uttarakhand. Total 60 adults (30 male and 30 female) were participated in the present study. Voice sample were recorded for vowel /a/ and analyzed with Dr. Speech software. The voice parameters F0, F0 max, F0 min, Jitter, and Shimmer were analyzed. Data analysis was carried out with SPSS (17). The mean F0 was 129 Hz for male and 233 Hz for female. There were significant difference observed between male and female voice for F0, F0 max, F0 min, and Shimmer.
Distributed/Decentralized and Asynchronous Algorithms

This chapter is concerned with decentralized and asynchronous forms of the stochastic approximation algorithms, a relatively new area of research. Compared with the rapid progress and extensive literature in stochastic approximation methods, the study of parallel stochastic approximations is still in its infancy. Perhaps the first work on the subject was [14], which dealt with a very particular class of algorithms, where similar computations were done by several processors and convex combinations were taken. The general ideas of weak convergence theory were applied to a fairly broad class of realistic algorithms in [111, 112]. The general ideas presented there and in [105, 171] form the basis of this chapter. Analogously to the problems in Chapter 8, those methods can handle correlated and state dependent noise, delays in communication, and asynchronous and distributed network forms. Various examples are given in Section 1. In the basic model, there are several processors; each one is responsible for the updating of only a part of the parameter vector. There might be overlaps in that several processors contribute to the updating of the same component of the parameter. Such models were treated in [105, 171, 172]. For a similar model, the problem of finding zeros of a nonlinear function with noisy observations via parallel processing methods and with random truncation bounds was treated in [201]. An attempt to get real-time implementable procedures via pipelining (see Section 1.2) of communication and computation for algorithms with “delayed” observations was in [203].
Nursing Home-Hospice Collaboration and End-of-Life Hospitalizations Among Dying Nursing Home Residents.

Abstract Objectives Nursing homes (NHs) collaboration with hospices appears to improve end-of-life (EOL) care among dying NH residents. However, the potential benefits of NH-hospice collaboration may vary with the patterns of this collaboration. This study examines the relationship between the attributes of NH-hospice collaboration, especially the exclusivity of NH-hospice collaboration (ie, the number of hospice providers in a NH), and EOL hospitalizations among dying NH residents. Design This national retrospective cohort study linked 2000-2009 NH assessments (ie, the Minimum Data Set 2.0) and Medicare data. A linear probability model with facility fixed-effects was estimated to examine the relationship between EOL hospitalization and the attributes of NH-hospice collaborations, adjusting for individual and facility characteristics. We also performed a set of sensitivity analyses, including stratified analyses by volume of hospice services in a NH and stratified analyses by rural vs urban NH locations. Settings All Medicare and/or Medicaid certified US NHs with at least 8 years of data and at least 30 beds. Participants NH decedents resided in Medicare and/or Medicaid certified NHs in the US between 2000 and 2009. We restricted the analyses to those continuously enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service in the last 6 months of life and those who were in NHs for the last 30 days of life. In total, we identified 2,954,276 NH decedents over the study period. Measurements The outcome variable was measured as dichotomous, indicating whether a dying NH resident was hospitalized in the last 30 days of life. The attributes of NH-hospice collaboration were measured by the volume of hospice services (defined as the ratio of number of hospice days to the total NH days per NH per calendar year) and the number of hospice providers in a NH (defined as the number of unique hospice providers in a NH per year). We categorized NHs into groups based on the number of hospice providers (1, 2 or 3, and ≥4) in the NH, and conducted sensitivity analysis using a different categorization (1, 2, and 3+ hospice providers). Results The pattern of NH-hospice collaboration changed significantly over years; the average number of hospices in a NH increased from 1.4 in 2000 to 3.2 in 2009. The volume of NH-hospice collaboration also increased substantially. The multivariate regression analyses indicated that having more hospice providers in the NH was not associated with lower risks of EOL hospitalizations. After accounting for individual and facility characteristics, increasing hospice providers from 1 to at least 4 was associated with an overall 1 percentage point increase in the likelihood of EOL hospitalizations among dying residents (P Conclusions More hospice providers in the NH was not associated with lower EOL hospitalizations, especially among NHs with relatively high volume of hospice services.
Cost issues with telepsychiatry in the United States

Videoconferencing has increased patient access to psychiatric care by linking specialists at academic or regional health centres with primary health care professionals in shortage areas (Hilty et al, 1999, 2002). Preliminary studies have demonstrated positive outcomes and user satisfaction (Hilty et al, 2002). Information is still being sought regarding costs because of a paucity of clinical outcome studies, cost data and randomised trials.
Opportunistic distributed caching for mission-oriented delay-tolerant networks

In this paper, a new caching scheme has been proposed which takes into consideration mission-oriented applications of Delay-tolerant Networks (DTNs) such as in Military. In such applications data need to be cached following different criteria and priority levels. In these applications, other than data popularity based on request frequency, the importance is also given to who created and ranked POIs (point of interest) in the data (images), when and where it was created; higher rank data belonging to some specific location may be more important though the frequency of those may not be higher than frequency based popular data. Thus, our caching scheme for DTNs is designed by taking different requirements into consideration for defense applications so that access latency for higher priority but lesser accessed data is reduced. The performance evaluation shows that our caching scheme based on criteria other than popularity reduces the overall access latency, cache miss and cache memory when compared to other caching schemes.
Scaling of work and power in a locomotor muscle of a frog

Muscle work and power are important determinants of movement performance in animals. How these muscle properties scale determines, in part, the scaling of performance during movements, such as jump height or distance. Muscle-mass-specific work is predicted to remain constant across a range of scales, assuming geometric similarity, while muscle-mass-specific power is expected to decrease with increasing scale. We tested these predictions by examining muscle morphology and contractile properties of plantaris muscles from frogs ranging in mass from 1.28 to 20.60 g. Scaling of muscle work and power was examined using both linear regression on log10-transformed data (LR) and non-linear regressions on untransformed data (NLR). Results depended on the method of regression not because of large changes in scaling slopes, but because of changing levels of statistical significance using corrections for multiple tests, demonstrating the importance of careful consideration of statistical methods when analyzing patterns of scaling. In LR, muscle-mass-specific work decreased with increasing scale, but an accompanying positive allometry of muscle mass predicts constant movement performance at all scales. These relationships were non-significant in NLR, though scaling with geometric similarity also predicts constant jump performance across scales, because of proportional increases in available muscle energy and body mass. Both intrinsic shortening velocity and muscle-mass-specific power were positively allometric in both types of analysis. Nonetheless, scale accounts for little variation in contractile properties overall over the range examined, indicating that other sources of intraspecific variation may be more important in determining muscle performance and its effects on movement.
Effect of pre-cooked yellow pea flour incorporation on wheat tortilla quality parameters

Tortillas are a rapidly growing sector of the food market. With a trend in more health conscious consumers, pulse flours have the potential to increase tortilla markets by enhancing the nutritional...
Mining Exports Flows, Repression, and Forest Loss: A Cross-National Test of Ecologically Unequal Exchange

We draw on the theory of ecologically unequal exchange to inform our study of how mining exports sent from poor to rich nations affect forests in poor nations. Using ordinary least squares regression for a sample of 61 low- and middle-income nations, we find little support for this hypothesis. However, we refine it by considering how repressive nations facilitate ecologically unequal exchange in the mining sector. We argue that repressive nations create a “good business climate” for mining companies via economic incentives (e.g., tax holidays) and regulatory concessions (e.g., environmental law exemptions, labor flexibility, and imposed political stability). The key finding is that mining export flows increase forest loss more in repressive rather than democratic nations.
Role of Soy Phytoestrogens Genistein and Daidzein in Focal Adhesion Assembly and Focal Adhesion Kinase Activity in Breast Cancer Cells

Recently, our laboratory and others have shown that estrogen receptor (ER)α, negative (−) breast cancer (BC) cells respond to estrogenic compounds via rapid signaling mechanisms. To understand the role of soy phytoestrogens in BC cell invasion, we analyzed focal complex formation and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activity, as detected by phospho-specific anti-FAK antibodies to tyrosine residues 397 or 925. Stimulation of ERα+ T47D and ERα− MDA-MB-231 BC cell lines for 10 min with 17β-estradiol (E2), daidzein, or genistein (GEN) increased the number of focal adhesions and FAK activity. This data implicate E2 and soy phytoestrogens in the regulation of cellular interactions with the ECM via novel signaling mechanisms.
Breeding for yield in dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Strategies employed by dry bean breeders to improve yield include early generation testing, ideotype breeding, selection for physiological efficiency, and selection based on genotypic performance and combining ability across gene pools of Phaseolus vulgaris. Ideotype breeding has been successfully deployed to improve yield in navy, pinto and great northern seed types. The ideotype method is based on an ideal plant architecture to which breeders target their selection. Breeding for physiological efficiency is important in combining increased biomass, high growth rates and efficient partitioning. Genotypic performance and combining ability are also critical for yield improvement, since crosses between gene pools can exhibit negative combining ability and problems with lethality, whereas interracial crosses within the same gene pool exhibit the greatest potential. Breeders must work within specific constraints for growth habit, maturity, seed quality and disease resistance. A three-tiered pyramidal breeding strategy is proposed to facilitate yield improvement in dry bean. Breeding of elite, agronomically acceptable germplasm within the same market class is restricted to the apex of the pyramid. The intermediate level has fewer constraints and greater access to diverse germplasm. Interracial crosses within the same gene pool are utilized to exploit genetic differences within adapted material. Extracting genetic diversity from unadapted sources, including wild germplasm and other Phaseolus species, is conducted at the base of the pyramid. The objective of this breeding strategy is the movement of improved germplasm towards the apex, using different breeding procedures to optimize improvement at each tier of the breeding pyramid.
FRP reinforcement for prestressed and non-prestressed concrete structures

This paper provides the overall introduction to the subject of FRP reinforcement for concrete structures. It explains the organization and contents of the book and outlines a vision for future work.
Doubling Measures and Quasisymmetric Maps

In this chapter, we further explore the close connection between doubling measures and quasisymmetric maps. The main theme is that doubling measures can be used to deform the underlying metric space and that such deformations are quasisymmetric. This point of view has been advocated by David and Semmes; see [39], [164], and [165].
Spectrum of Restrictive and Infiltrative Cardiomyopathies: Part 1 of a 2-Part Series

Restrictive cardiomyopathies are the least common form of heart muscle disease. They are characterized as infiltrative and noninfiltrative, storage diseases, and endomyocardial disorders. Genetic diseases commonly present during childhood or adolescence. However, a growing percentage of elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction are being recognized as having forms of restrictive cardiomyopathy, particularly cardiac amyloidosis. Noninvasive evaluation has replaced endomyocardial biopsy in the diagnostic evaluation of most suspected etiologies. The detection of infiltrative cardiomyopathies, including lysosomal and glycogen storage disorders, iron overload, and amyloidosis (both light chain amyloidosis and transthyretin amyloidosis variants), as well as inflammatory diseases such as sarcoidosis has slowly led to improved outcomes via disease-specific therapies.
Treating insomnia improves depression, maladaptive thinking, and hyperarousal in postmenopausal women: comparing cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI), sleep restriction therapy, and sleep hygiene education

Abstract Introduction Depression increases during menopause, and subclinical depressive symptoms increase risk for major depression. Insomnia is common among postmenopausal women and increases depression-risk in this already-vulnerable population. Recent evidence supports the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) to treat menopausal insomnia, but it remains unclear whether treating insomnia also alleviates co-occurring depressive symptoms and depressogenic features. This trial tested whether CBTI improves depressive symptoms, maladaptive thinking, and somatic hyperarousal in postmenopausal women with insomnia; as well as whether sleep restriction therapy (SRT)—a single component of CBTI—is equally efficacious. Materials and methods Single-site, randomized controlled trial. 117 postmenopausal women (56.34 ± 5.41 years) with peri-or-postmenopausal onset of chronic insomnia were randomized to three treatment conditions: sleep hygiene education control (SHE), SRT, and CBTI. Blinded assessments were performed at baseline, posttreatment, and six-month follow-up. Results CBTI produced moderate-to-large reductions in depressive symptoms, whereas SRT produced moderate reductions but not until six months posttreatment. Treatment effects on maladaptive thinking were mixed. CBTI and SRT both produced large improvements in dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, but weaker influences on presleep cognitive arousal, rumination, and worry. Presleep somatic arousal greatly improved in the CBTI group and moderately improved in the SRT group. Improvements in depression, maladaptive thinking, and hyperarousal were linked to improved sleep. SHE produced no durable treatment effects. Conclusions CBTI and SRT reduce depressive symptoms, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, and presleep somatic hyperarousal in postmenopausal women, with CBTI producing superior results. Despite its cognitive emphasis, cognitive arousal did not respond strongly or durably to CBTI. Name Behavioral Treatment of Menopausal Insomnia: Sleep and Daytime Outcomes. URL clinicaltrials.gov . Registration NCT01933295.
Silent synapse: A new player in visual cortex critical period plasticity.

Abstract During critical period, the heightened plasticity in neocortex opens a time window when, with proper external environmental stimuli, experience dependent refinement processes help to optimize the function of neuronal networks. With the closure of critical periods, the gradually decreased plasticity leaves a mature system which is stable to perform its function but with limited plasticity for changes in the adult. In order to gain more detailed knowledge about critical period plasticity, ocular dominance plasticity in primary visual cortex has been used as a study model to test plasticity levels in neural circuits. Since then, multiple cellular and molecular mechanisms have been proposed. Among them, the abundance of AMPA receptor silent synapses, as substrates for Hebbian plasticity, is shown to be closely related to not only critical period plasticity, but also the network refinement at glutamatergic synapses of principal neurons. Here, I discuss the role of silent synapses and how they interact with other known mechanisms involved in critical period plasticity.
Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics Ii: Presentation

The Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II offers a nationally-representative database for the United States to offer systematic, reliable, and generalizable data on the business formation process. It includes information on the proportion and characteristics of the adult population attempting to start new businesses, the kinds of activities nascent entrepreneurs undertake during the business start-up process and the proportion and characteristics of the start-up efforts that become infant firms. The PSED II follows a cohort of nascent entrepreneurs for three years beginning in 2005.
The Effects of Teacher Professional Development on Children’s Attendance in Preschool

AbstractStudent absenteeism is a widespread and critical issue in early childhood education. Current efforts to reduce student absenteeism in both preschool and K–12 settings have largely been fami...
Risk of Stillbirth after Antepartum Hospitalization for Hypertensive Diseases of Pregnancy.

Objective To determine if women with an antepartum admission for hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (HDP) were at increased risk for stillbirth. Study Design This study utilized the 2010 to 2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database. Antepartum admissions with HDP were identified and linked to subsequent delivery hospitalizations. Delivery hospitalizations with HDP without a preceding antepartum HDP admission were also identified. Risk for stillbirth, abruption, or both was compared between these two groups. Results An estimated 382,621 deliveries with an HDP diagnosis were identified of which 14,857 (3.9%) had a preceding antepartum admission for HDP. Stillbirth occurred in 7.8 per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations complicated by HDP with risk higher with a preceding HDP antepartum admission in both unadjusted (1.1 vs. 0.8%, risk ratios [RR] 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.24–1.70) and adjusted (adjusted risk ratios [aRR] 1.24, 95% CI 1.06, 1.46) analyses. Abruption occurred in 19.6 per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations complicated by HDP with risk higher with a preceding HDP antepartum admission in both unadjusted (2.5 vs. 1.9%, RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.17–1.44) and adjusted (aRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.11, 1.37) analyses. Risk for combined abruption and stillbirth did not differ significantly. Conclusion In this analysis, prior antenatal hospitalization was associated with increased risk for stillbirth among women with HDP.
A comprehensive proteomics analysis of JC virus Agnoprotein-interacting proteins: Agnoprotein primarily targets the host proteins with coiled-coil motifs.

Abstract JC virus (JCV) Agnoprotein (Agno) plays critical roles in successful completion of the viral replication cycle. Understanding its regulatory roles requires a complete map of JCV-host protein interactions. Here, we report the first Agno interactome with host cellular targets utilizing “Two-Strep-Tag” affinity purification system coupled with mass spectroscopy (AP/MS). Proteomics data revealed that Agno primarily targets 501 cellular proteins, most of which contain “coiled-coil” motifs. Agno-host interactions occur in several cellular networks including those involved in protein synthesis and degradation; and cellular transport; and in organelles, including mitochondria, nucleus and ER-Golgi network. Among the Agno interactions, Rab11B, Importin and Crm-1 were first validated biochemically and further characterization was done for Crm-1, using a HIV-1 Rev-M10-like Agno mutant (L33D + E34L), revealing the critical roles of L33 and E34 residues in Crm-1 interaction. This comprehensive proteomics data provides new foundations to unravel the critical regulatory roles of Agno during the JCV life cycle.
Campylobacter Abundance in Breastfed Infants and Identification of a New Species in the Global Enterics Multicenter Study.

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial diarrhea worldwide and is associated with high rates of mortality and growth stunting in children inhabiting low- to middle-resource countries. To better understand the impact of breastfeeding on Campylobacter infection in infants in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, we examined fecal microbial compositions, bacterial isolates, and their carbohydrate metabolic pathways in Campylobacter-positive infants IMPORTANCECampylobacter is the primary cause of bacterial diarrhea in the United States and can lead to the development of the postinfectious autoimmune neuropathy known as Guillain-Barre syndrome. Also, drug-resistant campylobacters are becoming a serious concern both locally and abroad. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), infection with Campylobacter is linked to high rates of morbidity, growth stunting, and mortality in children, and breastfeeding is important for infant nutrition, development, and protection against infectious diseases. In this study, we examined the relationship between breastfeeding and Campylobacter infection and demonstrate the increased selection for C. jejuni and C. coli strains unable to metabolize fucose. We also identify a new Campylobacter species coinfecting these infants with a high prevalence in five of the seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia examined. These findings indicate that more detailed studies are needed in LMICs to understand the Campylobacter infection process in order to devise a strategy for eliminating this pathogenic microbe.
Cannabis use in pregnancy and breastfeeding: The pharmacist's role.

Background:The recent legalization of cannabis use in Canada requires pharmacists to be able to support their patients with accurate knowledge of its known risks and benefits. Certain populations, ...
Affective brain-computer interfaces: Choosing a meaningful performance measuring metric.

Abstract Affective brain-computer interfaces are a relatively new area of research in affective computing. Estimation of affective states can improve human-computer interaction as well as improve the care of people with severe disabilities. To assess the effectiveness of EEG recordings for recognizing affective states, we used data collected in our lab as well as the publicly available DEAP database. We also reviewed the articles that used the DEAP database and found that a significant number of articles did not consider the presence of the class imbalance in the DEAP. Failing to consider class imbalance creates misleading results. Further, ignoring class imbalance makes the comparison of the results between studies using different datasets impossible, since different datasets will have different class imbalances. Class imbalance also shifts the chance level, hence it is vital to consider class bias while determining if the results are above chance. To properly account for the effect of class imbalance, we suggest the use of balanced accuracy as a performance metric, and its posterior distribution for computing credible intervals. For classification, we used features from the literature as well as theta beta-1 ratio. Results from DEAP and our data suggest that the beta band power, theta band power, and theta beta-1 ratio are better feature sets for classifying valence, arousal, and dominance, respectively.
3 – More about Derivatives

In the previous chapter we introduced the concepts of the limit and the derivative but found that the calculation of derivatives could be extremely difficult. An even more annoying problem was the seeming necessity to come up with a special technique (like multiplying and dividing by some quantity) each time we took the limit in the process of computing a derivative. In this chapter we continue the discussion of properties of the derivatives of functions. We will be principally concerned with simplifying the process of a differentiation so that it will no longer be necessary to deal with complicated limits. In many of the sections of this chapter we will be deriving formulas for calculating derivatives. Formulas are usually not very exciting, and we ask you to bear with us here. By the time you have completed the chapter, you will find that differentiation is not nearly as complicated as it now seems. The work involved in memorizing the appropriate formulas will pay dividends in the chapters to come.
Understanding The Impact of Solver Choice in Model-Based Test Generation

Background: In model-based test generation, SMT solvers explore the state-space of the model in search of violations of specified properties. If the solver finds that a predicate can be violated, it produces a partial test specification demonstrating the violation.Aims: The choice of solvers is important, as each may produce differing counterexamples. We aim to understand how solver choice impacts the effectiveness of generated test suites at finding faults.Method: We have performed experiments examining the impact of solver choice across multiple dimensions, examining the ability to attain goal satisfaction and fault detection when satisfaction is achieved---varying the source of test goals, data types of model input, and test oracle.Results: The results of our experiment show that solvers vary in their ability to produce counterexamples, and---for models where all solvers achieve goal satisfaction---in the resulting fault detection of the generated test suites. The choice of solver has an impact on the resulting test suite, regardless of the oracle, model structure, or source of testing goals.Conclusions: The results of this study identify factors that impact fault-detection effectiveness, and advice that could improve future approaches to model-based test generation.
Ovarian antibodies among SLE women with premature menopause after cyclophosphamide.

Background Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at risk of premature ovarian failure when treated with cyclophosphamide. This risk is increased when autoimmune thyroid disease is present. We undertook this study to determine whether the presence of ovarian autoimmunity also increased the risk of early ovarian failure among women receiving cyclophosphamide. Methods We examined the records of women enrolled in the Lupus Family Registry and Repository, a cross-sectional study of ~3300 SLE subjects, for treatment with cyclophosphamide as well as menopausal status. We defined premature menopause as permanent, spontaneous cessation of menstruation before age 45. We measured anti-ovarian antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using stored sera. Results There were 258 women treated with cyclophosphamide in whom presence of absence or premature menopause could by defined. A total of 169 (65.6%) had premature ovarian failure, while 89 (34.6%) did not. While anti-ovarian antibodies were present in a small percentage of patients, there was no association of premature menopause to either level of these antibodies (16.2 ± 20.3 units vs 17.4 ± 21.7 units, P = NS by Fisher's exact test), or positivity on this testing (11 of 169 [6.5%] positive vs 8 of 89 [8.9%], χ2 = 0.53, P = .46, 95% CI 0.95-1.1). Neither renal disease nor hypothyroidism increased the risk of premature ovarian failure in these women receiving cyclophosphamide. Conclusion Anti-ovarian antibodies among women with SLE are not associated with premature ovarian failure after treatment with cyclophosphamide.
Role of plasmids in mercury transformation by bacteria isolated from the aquatic environment

Eight mercury-resistant bacterial strains isolated from the Chesapeake Bay and one strain isolated from the Cayman Trench were examined for ability to volatilize mercury. Mercury volatilization was found to be variable in the strains tested. In addition, plasmids were detected in all strains. After curing, two of the bacterial strains lost mercury resistance, indicating that volatilization is plasmid mediated in these strains. Only two cultures demonstrated ability to methylate mercuric chloride under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Methylation of mercury, compared with volatilization, appears to be mediated by a separate genetic system in these bacteria. It is concluded that mercury volatilization in the estuarine environment can be mediated by genes carried on plasmids.
Ready for Robotics: Bringing Together the T and E of STEM in Early Childhood Teacher Education.

Prior work has shown that early childhood educators demonstrate a lack of knowledge and understanding about technology and engineering, and about developmentally appropriate pedagogical approaches to bring those disciplines into the classrooms. This paper reports a study in which 32 early childhood educators participated in an intensive three-day professional development workshop with the goals of: increasing teachers’ knowledge about robotics, engineering and programming, and pedagogies for teaching them in the early childhood classroom. results show a statistically significant increase in the level of knowledge in all the three areas of technology in general, pedagogy, and robotics content knowledge after participation in the institute. additionally, results show significant increases in several aspects of technology self-efficacy and attitudes toward technology. implications for designing effective technology focused professional development are discussed.