cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NUTRITIONAL GOALS, PRESCRIPTION AND DELIVERY IN A PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Background and Aims The aim of this study was to compare prescription and delivery of nutrition to predefined nutritional targets, and identify risk factors associated with inadequate nutritional intake. Methods In 84 mechanically ventilated critically ill children with length of stay on the PICU of at least 3 days, we observed prescribed and delivered percentages of predefined targets for intake of calories and macronutrients during a 10-months study period. Factors associated with inadequate intake were identified. Results On the third day of admission 92.9% of the patients received nutritional therapy. The caloric goal was reached on day 5, mainly supplied by fat and carbohydrates. Mean actual daily protein delivery was about 75% of the target during the entire study period. Use of catecholamines or neuromuscular blocking agents was a risk factor for caloric undernutrition, whereas there were no specific risk factors for overnutrition. Conclusions Nutritional therapy should be started in the early phase of critical illness, including adequate supply of protein. In order to prevent deficits to accumulate, parenteral nutrition should be added in an early phase, if nutritional needs can not be met by enteral nutrition.
Luxury and sustainability: The role of message appeals and objectivity on luxury brands’ green corporate social responsibility

Luxury companies are facing a dilemma over green CSR communication. Consumers expect them to engage in pro-environmental practices, but at the same time they view luxury and sustainability as incom...
LiDAR-Based Map Relative Localization Performance Analysis for Landing on Europa

This paper presents preliminary simulations and analyses done to assess the feasibility of performing Map Relative Localization (MRL) with the Europa Lander LiDAR being developed for the Europa Lander Pre-Phase A concept. Map Relative Localization is the process of determining the horizontal position of a lander with respect to an onboard, a-priori map, by comparing the map to sensor observations of the terrain during deorbit, descent, and landing (DDL). Although kilometer-scale position knowledge is commonly available during DDL, landing in hazard-rich environments requires position errors of 100 m or less. Prior knowledge in the case of Europa Lander will be visual and topographic maps collected by the upcoming Europa Clipper mission. The Mars 2020 Lander Vision System (LVS) uses images from a camera to localize with respect to visual maps. This technology, as well as a 3D imaging LiDAR in development for hazard detection, is currently baselined for the Europa Lander Pre-Phase A concept. This paper investigates the potential use of the hazard detection LiDAR to perform MRL with respect to a 3D digital elevation model (DEM) provided by the Europa Clipper mission, as an alternative or backup solution to passive optical MRL. Compared to passive optical MRL, one advantage of LiDAR-based localization is that it is insensitive to lighting conditions, potentially relaxing requirements on synchronizing map acquisition and landing time of day. To analyze LiDAR based MRL performance, six representative terrains are synthetically up-sampled from Galileo-derived maps of Europa to a resolution of 0.5 m/px and covering an area of 4 km by 4 km. These maps are used as ground-truth to generate simulated noisy a-priori onboard topographic maps expected from Europa Clipper as well as simulated LiDAR DEMs generated at an altitude of 5 km during Europa Lander DDL. The simulated LiDAR DEM is matched against the simulated map via 2D normalized cross-correlation, exploiting the accurately known spacecraft attitude to avoid the need for more computationally intensive algorithms such as Iterative Closest Point (ICP). Two sources of measurement error are identified for analysis: 1) additive Gaussian noise in the range measurements from the Europa Lander LiDAR and the Europa Clipper derived maps and 2) errors in the LiDAR DEM induced by errors in the Europa Lander state estimate which is used to de-warp the LiDAR scan data into a DEM format. We assess the effect of each of these types of errors independently on matching performance as well as the overall performance when all types of error are introduced. Additionally, we present the result of a sensitivity study to terrain frequency content.
Secondary prevention after coronary artery bypass grafting: Anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy is only one factor

Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and clopidogrel/ticagrelor/prasugrel does not lead to improved graft patency rates or clinical outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) over aspirin monotherapy, at least for on pump CABG. The protective effects of DAPT tended to be observed to be greater extent in patients undergoing off pump CABG. In general, the addition of the potent thienopyridines increased the risk of major bleeding, although the incidence of major bleeding is relatively low after either on pump or off pump surgical revascularization. There is a lack of evidence that anticoagulation post-CABG provides any protection against graft failure, but it may decrease the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events. However, antiplatelet and anti thrombotic therapy after CABG is only one component of secondary prevention that needs to be taken into consideration when optimizing the long-term outcomes of patients after CABG.
Decreasing ICU-associated Clostridioides difficile infection through fluoroquinolone restriction, the FIRST trial: a study protocol.

Introduction Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections in the USA, having high incidence in intensive care units (ICU). Antibiotic use increases risk of CDI, with fluoroquinolones (FQs) particularly implicated. In healthcare settings, antibiotic stewardship (AS) and infection control interventions are effective in CDI control, but there is little evidence regarding the most effective AS interventions. Preprescription authorisation (PPA) restricting FQs is a potentially promising AS intervention to reduce CDI. The FQ Restriction for the Prevention of CDI (FIRST) trial will evaluate the effectiveness of an FQ PPA intervention in reducing CDI rates in adult ICUs compared with preintervention care, and evaluate implementation effectiveness using a human-factors and systems engineering model. Methods and analysis This is a multisite, stepped-wedge, cluster, effectiveness-implementation clinical trial. The trial will take place in 12 adult medical-surgical ICUs with ≥10 beds, using Epic as electronic health record (EHR) and pre-existing AS programmes. Sites will receive facilitated implementation support over the 15-month trial period, succeeded by 9 months of follow-up. The intervention comprises a clinical decision support system for FQ PPA, integrated into the site EHRs. Each ICU will be considered a single site and all ICU admissions included in the analysis. Clinical data will be extracted from EHRs throughout the trial and compared with the corresponding pretrial period, which will constitute the baseline for statistical analysis. Outcomes will include ICU-onset CDI rates, FQ days of therapy (DOT), alternative antibiotic DOT, average length of stay and hospital mortality. The study team will also collect implementation data to assess implementation effectiveness using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model. Ethics and dissemination The trial was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2018-0852-CP015). Results will be made available to participating sites, funders, infectious disease societies, critical care societies and other researchers. Trial registration number NCT03848689.
Characterization of the effects of heat stress on autophagy induction in the pig oocyte.

Heat stress (HS) occurs when body heat accumulation exceeds heat dissipation and is associated with swine seasonal infertility. HS contributes to compromised oocyte integrity and reduced embryo development. Autophagy is a potential mechanism for the oocyte to mitigate the detrimental effects of HS by recycling damaged cellular components. To characterize the effect of HS on autophagy in oocyte maturation, we utilized an in vitro maturation (IVM) system where oocytes underwent thermal neutral (TN) conditions throughout the entire maturation period (TN/TN), HS conditions during the first half of IVM (HS/TN), or HS conditions during the second half of IVM (TN/HS). To determine the effect of HS on autophagy induction within the oocyte, we compared the relative abundance and localization of autophagy-related proteins. Heat stress treatment affected the abundance of two well described markers of autophagy induction: autophagy related gene 12 (ATG12) in complex with ATG5 and the cleaved form of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta (LC3B-II). The HS/TN IVM treatment increased the abundance of the ATG12-ATG5 complex and exacerbated the loss of LC3B-II in oocytes. The B-cell lymphoma 2 like 1 protein (BCL2L1) can inhibit autophagy or apoptosis through its interaction with either beclin1 (BECN1) or BCL2 associated X, apoptosis regulator (BAX), respectively. We detected colocalization of BCL2L1 with BAX but not BCL2L1 with BECN1, suggesting that apoptosis is inhibited under the HS/TN treatment but not autophagy. Interestingly, low doses of the autophagy inducer, rapamycin, increased oocyte maturation. Our results here suggest that HS increases autophagy induction in the oocyte during IVM, and that artificial induction of autophagy increases the maturation rate of oocytes during IVM. These data support autophagy as a potential mechanism activated in the oocyte during HS to recycle damaged cellular components and maintain developmental competence.
Reduced-Order Modeling of Advection-Dominated Kinetic Plasma Problems by Shifted Proper Orthogonal Decomposition

Model-order reduction is an important tool in the computational exploration of complex physical phenomena, such as kinetic plasmas. A popular strategy to achieve model reduction is the so- called projection methods, such as the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), where the dynamics of interest are decomposed into a set of global modes and the problem is then projected onto those modes. While very successful, in general, the conventional POD technique is not suited for certain advection-dominated problems or “transport” problems where moving localized features cannot be well represented by global modes. In this work, we apply an extension of the POD technique to obtain an efficient reduced-order model of advection-dominated kinetic plasma problems from finite-element particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The results obtained showcase the efficacy of this strategy for obtaining a parsimonious representation of the degrees of freedom of the problem that serves to both reduce simulation costs and provide added physical insight into the problem.
Abstract 9: Consistency of Laboratory Monitoring during Initiation of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists in Heart Failure

Introduction: The ACC/AHA heart failure guidelines recommend routine monitoring of serum potassium and renal function of patients treated with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs). However, compliance with these safety recommendations in routine clinical practice is unknown. Methods: We analyzed a cohort of Medicare beneficiaries in 10 states with prevalent heart failure as of July 1, 2011 and incident MRA use between May 1, 2011 and September 30, 2011. Medicare claims data were linked to laboratory results data from a large vendor. Outcomes included guideline recommended testing of serum creatinine and potassium prior to MRA initiation as well as follow-up testing in the early (day 1-10) and extended (day 11-90) post-initiation periods. Additional outcomes included abnormal laboratory results and adverse events proximate to MRA initiation. Results: We identified 10,443 Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure started on an MRA with 19.7% (2,056 of 10,443) initiated during a hospitalization. The table displays the frequency of laboratory testing before and after inpatient or outpatient MRA initiation. While overall 91.6% (9,564 of 10,443) of patients received appropriate pre-initiation testing, only 13.3% (1,384 of 10,443) received appropriate early post-initiation testing and 29.9% (3,122 of 10,443) received appropriate extended post-initiation testing. Among those patients initiated on an MRA during a hospitalization, 25.2% (518 of 2,056) had appropriate testing across all time periods. Chronic kidney disease was associated with increased likelihood of appropriate laboratory testing (RR 1.83, 95% CI: 1.58, 2.13), as was concomitant diuretic use (RR 1.78, 95% CI: 1.44, 2.21). In the early follow-up period, 1.8% (184 of 10,443) of overall patients started on a MRA had hyperkalemia or acute renal insufficiency requiring hospitalization or emergency department visit, and 8.7% (910 of 10,443) experienced these adverse events within the 90-day follow-up period. Conclusions: Rates of guideline recommended laboratory monitoring of creatinine and potassium after MRA initiation were low, which represents an area for quality improvement to ensure MRAs can safely and effectively be used in care of heart failure patients. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Mechanical behavior and testing methods of unsaturated soils

The mechanical behavior of unsaturated cohesive soils under different common stress conditions. that is, static compression, dynamic shear, and repetitive compression, is considered as a function of induced initial matrixsuction by desorption from the initially saturated state. The hysteresis of moisture retention is considered outside the scope of this work. The test results suggest that the moisture regime can be expressed most suitably in terms of matrix suction. The data suggest that a rather definite change in stress-strain response takes place at a critical value of the matrix suction with modulus values, in general, dropping beyond the critical suction. The direct measurement of the total soil suction in the laboratory in connection with the triaxial compression test is sought by use of thermocouple psychrometers. The total suction of the soil decreases as the applied stresses increase; the quantitative relationship is complicated by a number of factors. The matrix suction appears to be the fundamental suction component controlling the mechanical behavior during a desorption schedule. This implies certain limitations for the use of psychrometers alone in indexing the mechanical behavior of soils, especially if they have a sienificant osmotic suction component.
Using matched samples to estimate the effects of exercise on mental health from twitter

Recent work has demonstrated the value of social media monitoring for health surveillance (e.g., tracking influenza or depression rates). It is an open question whether such data can be used to make causal inferences (e.g., determining which activities lead to increased depression rates). Even in traditional, restricted domains, estimating causal effects from observational data is highly susceptible to confounding bias. In this work, we estimate the effect of exercise on mental health from Twitter, relying on statistical matching methods to reduce confounding bias. We train a text classifier to estimate the volume of a user's tweets expressing anxiety, depression, or anger, then compare two groups: those who exercise regularly (identified by their use of physical activity trackers like Nike+), and a matched control group. We find that those who exercise regularly have significantly fewer tweets expressing depression or anxiety; there is no significant difference in rates of tweets expressing anger. We additionally perform a sensitivity analysis to investigate how the many experimental design choices in such a study impact the final conclusions, including the quality of the classifier and the construction of the control group.
Folding a Triangulated Simple Polygon: Structural and Algorithmic Results

We describe a linear-time algorithm that folds a triangulated simple polygon into a single triangle. Using this technique, we derive a particularly simple proof of Chvatal's art gallery theorem and improve or simplify a number of algorithms that deal with triangulated simple polygons. We describe two improved algorithms, both based on the degree sequence of the boundary vertices of the given triangulated simple polygon. The first is a linear-time algorithm that, using only the parity of the degree of each vertex, colors the vertices of a triangulated simple polygon using three colors. The second algorithm reconstructs the polygon and its triangulation from the degree sequence. We then show that our results extend to k-trees.
Mixture Models of Individual Heterogeneity

Mixture models of individual heterogeneity are models of a population consisting of heterogeneous types of individuals, each type exhibiting a distinct probabilistic behavior, with the probability of each type equal to that type's proportion in the population. Keywords: mixture models; heterogeneity; identification
Population balance modeling of dose in environmental mixtures

The response of organisms to differing levels of exposure to other chemical or biological species is commonly characterized using canonical dose-response models that are calibrated in laboratory (e.g., toxicological) studies. Use of such information in the study of ecosystems is difficult because dose received in the environment can vary greatly within a population due to the heterogeneity of the mixing between population members and etiological agents. Thus direct use of dose-response models is often predicated on assumptions of complete mixing in the environment. To relax this assumption it is required to devise an approach that keeps track of dose as a distributed quantity over a population. Here such a method is described that couples the transport models of both the population members and the organic chemical pollutant, and uses an added dimension of exposure-time to keep track of the mixing time, or dose, between them. An application is described using published data of mortality in populations of juvenile salmon immunosuppressed from chemical exposure (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in waterways of the Pacific Northwest.
ECIRS: an English-Chinese cross-language information-retrieval system

In this paper, we describe a World Wide Web-based information retrieval system, called ECIRS (English-Chinese Information Retrieval System). ECIRS provides a cross-language platform for helping people to retrieve Chinese information without inputting a Chinese query. The Web-based client-server architecture allows more users to access ECIRS through the Internet. Distributed Chinese document collections can be easily scaled up with daily growing information. The interactive and hyperlinked user interface can allow people to efficiently choose their favorite documents. In future studies, more evaluation tests and the construction of a larger name recognizer are needed to improve the effectiveness of ECIRS.
POSITIVE SOLUTIONS OF NONLINEAR FRACTIONAL BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS WITH DIRICHLET BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

In this paper, we study the existence and multiplicity of positive solutions of a class of nonlinear fractional boundary value problems with Dirichlet boundary conditions. By applying the fixed point theory on cones we establish a series of criteria for the existence of one, two, any arbitrary finite number, and an infinite number of positive solutions. A criterion for the nonexistence of positive solutions is also derived. Several examples are given for demonstration.
On the dimension of the product of two compacta and the dimension of their intersection in general position in Euclidean space

For every two compact metric spaces X and Y , both with dimension at most n − 3, there are dense Gδ-subsets of mappings f : X → Rn and g : Y → Rn with dimf(X) ∩ g(Y ) ≤ dim(X × Y )− n.
A physical assay for and kinetic analysis of the interactions between M1 RNA and tRNA precursor substrates

A gel-shift assay was devised to detect stable enzyme-substrate (E-S) complexes between M1 RNA, the catalytic subunit of RNase P from Escherichia coli, and its tRNA precursor substrates. The use of deletion derivatives of M1 RNA in the gel-shift assay has allowed us to identify regions of the enzyme that are involved in the binding of the substrate or that are necessary for catalytic activity. Fragments of substrates that contain the 3' CCA sequence bind preferentially to regions in the 5' half of M1 RNA, while 5' leader sequences interact primarily with regions in the 3' half of M1 RNA. The 5' leader sequence present in the precursor to tRNA(Tyr)su3 from E. coli plays an important role in the formation of stable E-S complexes with M1 RNA. The CCA sequence at the 3' end of precursor tRNA substrates is involved in the product-release step of the reaction that is catalyzed by M1 RNA. Direct measurements of the concentrations of all the components in the reaction catalyzed by M1 RNA facilitated a new approach to the kinetic analysis of the action of the enzyme.
Recruitment, mentoring, and development of STEM faculty to lead international programs

Faculty-led experiential study abroad is an increasingly popular vehicle for internationalizing STEM education. However, STEM faculty can lack the necessary knowledge and experience to lead study abroad programs, and may be reluctant to get involved. At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, half of all STEM undergraduates complete interdisciplinary research projects abroad under faculty guidance, and over 25% of STEM faculty have some level of involvement in offcampus project programs. WPI's faculty development approach involves recruitment, training, mentoring, and support. In this paper, we discuss strategies to engage and prepare STEM faculty to lead experiential study abroad programs that are scalable and sustainable. Examples are given of how overseas experiences can benefit faculty work on campus in teaching and scholarship.
Angular Dependence of Zeeman Spectra of Gd 3 + in Ca F 2 at Cubic Sites

The optical Zeeman spectra of $^{6}P_{\frac{5}{2}}$ and $^{6}P_{\frac{7}{2}}$ multiplets of ${\mathrm{Gd}}^{3+}$ in Ca${\mathrm{F}}_{2}$ at a site of cubic symmetry show a pronounced angular variation with rotation of the sample in the magnetic field. This occurs even when the initial and final magnetic sublevels are rotationally invariant. This phenomenon may be explained by considering that the $^{8}S_{\frac{7}{2}}$ ground state, split only 0.149 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ by the crystal field, is described at magnetic fields greater than about 4 kG by the projection quantum number ${J}_{z}$ referred to the magnetic field axis; and that the excited states are most conveniently described with the basis along the fourfold crystal ax is. The calculation of the dependence of the Zeeman patterns on crystal orientation, therefore, ${\mathrm{require}}^{\mathrm{S}}$ a transformation of the basis to a common Cartesian reference frame. This may be accomplished by the rotation matrix ${{R}_{{{J}_{z}}^{\ensuremath{'}}{J}_{z}}}^{J}$ acting on the ground-state basis, or by transformation of the crystal-field Hamiltonian for the excited states from the fourfold basis to the magnetic field. The crystal-field quantum numbers (irreducible representations) assigned to the $^{6}P_{\frac{7}{2}}$ and $^{6}P_{\frac{5}{2}}$ multiplets are in order of increasing energy: $^{2}\ensuremath{\Gamma}_{6}$, $^{4}\ensuremath{\Gamma}_{8}$, $^{2}\ensuremath{\Gamma}_{7}$ and $^{4}\ensuremath{\Gamma}_{8}$, $^{2}\ensuremath{\Gamma}_{7}$. The measured $g$ factors are 1.61\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.06 and 1.76\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1 for the $^{6}P_{\frac{7}{2}}$ and $^{6}P_{\frac{5}{2}}$ levels, respectively.
Site-specific recombination between homologous chromosomes in Drosophila

The ability to mark a cell and its descendants genetically so that the resulting cell clone can be distinguished from neighboring cells facilitates studies in animal biology and development. A method of generating clones by inducing homologous mitotic recombination in Drosophila with a site-specific yeast recombinase is described. This method allows for frequent mosaicism after mitotic exchange is induced at predefined sites in the genome.
Testing function of fiddler crab claw waving by manipulating social context

Many territorial advertisement signals are thought to be dual-function signals, directed to both rival male and receptive female conspecifics. However, few studies have tested this assumption by examining whether in fact both sexes are likely to elicit signaling behavior from territorial males. In this study, I experimentally manipulated the social context of male sand fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator) to investigate the effect of different audiences on the performance of the claw-waving display, a territorial signal that is often presumed to be directed to both males and females. To test whether males perform this signal to both audiences, I measured the frequency of waving behavior by focal males when housed in field enclosures alone, with only males, with only females, or with both males and females. Focal males waved at a low frequency when alone, and the presence of males had no effect on their level of waving. However, in the presence of females, focal males showed a significantly higher level of waving, whether or not males were also present. In addition, there was no association between fighting and waving behavior. This experiment provides evidence that from the perspective of the signaling male, the claw-waving display of U. pugilator is not a dual-function signal but rather is primarily directed to receptive females.
Wedding bell blues: Marriage, missing men, and matrifocal follies

In this article, I revisit debates about so-called matrifocal societies as a way to critique the centrality of heteronormative marriage and family in anthropology. Using gender as a tool of analysis, I argue that anthropologists have relied on the trope of the dominant heterosexual man, what I call the “Patriarchal Man,” to create and sustain concepts of “marriage” and “family.” By examining the discourse on matrifocality in studies of Afro-Caribbean and Minangkabau households, I show how it is the “missing man,” the dominant heterosexual man, who is the key to the construction and perpetuation of the matrifocal concept and, by extension, the motor of marriage, family, and kinship. This fixity on the dominant heterosexual man has led anthropologists to misrecognize other forms of relatedness as less than or weaker than heteronormative marriage. I suggest that, rather than positing a foundational model for human sociality, intimacy, or relatedness, researchers look for webs of meaningful relationships in their historical and social specificity.
Coupling the electronic and optical problems in semiconductor quantum well laser simulations

We discuss some of the methods for 2D self-consistent simulation of semiconductor quantum-well lasers. First, the electronic and optical parts are each treated separately, then the coupling of the two problems is addressed. We briefly discuss the evolution of self-consistent laser simulation up to its present level, and some of the electronic transport concerns are discussed in greater detail. Transport in bulk regions and at heterojunctions, and the coupling of classical and quantum regions are each presented separately. Then, we review the approaches to the solution of the eigenvalue problem for the optical field. Finally, to illustrate the issues involved in coupling electronic and optical solutions, we introduce a model laser structure in which the optical field is poorly confined in the lateral direction, and the different confinement mechanisms are discussed. We then present calculations showing how gain can contribute to the lateral confinement of the fundamental cavity mode.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Experimental evaluation of the effect of queue management schemes on the performance of high speed TCPs in 10Gbps network environment

Queue management schemes at the routers and congestion avoidance schemes at the end points cooperate to provide good congestion solutions in computer networks. While queue management schemes are still being developed, research on congestion avoidance has come a long way to serve the bandwidth requirement of the networks (e.g. high speed networks, data centers, etc.) at the order of 10Gbps. Because of considerable lack on the evaluation research work, there is no consensus on the choice of the queue management algorithms over these networks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that presents experimental evaluation of the effect of various queue management schemes on high speed TCP variants in realistic 10Gbps network environment. Evaluation of queue management schemes such as Drop-tail, RED, CHOKe, and SFB are presented for popular high speed TCP variants such as TCP-RENO, HSTCP, and CUBIC over CRON [1], a real 10Gbps high speed network testbed. Performance results are presented for several important metrics of interests such as link utilization, fairness, delay, packet drop rate, and computational complexity. The presented work supports further research work on the design and deployment issues of queue management schemes for high speed networks.
Experimental constraints on extra dimensions

Abstract We investigate the implications for experiment of the existence of compactified dimensions with a scale much larger than the Planck length. Such manifolds might occur in certain string models, for instance, if the compactification process is related to the mechanism generating electroweak or supersymmetry breaking. Model-independent upper bounds on the size of any extra dimensions are obtained by examining a wide range of experimental data.
A parallel stereo reconstruction algorithm with applications in entomology (APSRA)

We propose a fast parallel algorithm for the reconstruction of 3-Dimensional point clouds of insects from binocular stereo image pairs using a hierarchical approach for disparity estimation. Entomologists study various features of insects to classify them, build their distribution maps, and discover genetic links between specimens among various other essential tasks. This information is important to the pesticide and the pharmaceutical industries among others. When considering the large collections of insects entomologists analyze, it becomes difficult to physically handle the entire collection and share the data with researchers across the world. With the method presented in our work, Entomologists can create an image database for their collections and use the 3D models for studying the shape and structure of the insects thus making it easier to maintain and share. Initial feedback shows that the reconstructed 3D models preserve the shape and size of the specimen. We further optimize our results to incorporate multiview stereo which produces better overall structure of the insects. Our main contribution is applying stereoscopic vision techniques to entomology to solve the problems faced by entomologists.
Transfection with baculovirus DNA.

Purified DNA from the nuclear polyhedrosis viruses of Autographa californica (AcM NPV) and Rachiplusia ou (RoMNPV) were found to be infectious in TN-368 cells employing the calcium phosphate precipitation technique (F. L. Graham and A. J. van der Eb, Virology, 52 ,456-467, 1973). Transfection with AcM NPV produced 3600 PFU/microg DNA compared to 2900 PFU/mug DNA with RoM NPV. Of eight baculovirus DNAs tested, only AcM NPV DNA and RoM NPV DNA could transfect TN-368 cells. The in vitro host range of AcM NPV DNA was determined to be the same as AcM NPV extracellular virus. AcM NPV Form I DNA was fourfold more infectious in TN-368 cells than Form II DNA.
The treatment of chronic constipation in adults. A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether laxatives and fiber therapies improve symptoms and bowel movement frequency in adults with chronic constipation.
A single integral constitutive law for weak non-linear viscoelastic solids

Abstract A single integral representation is developed for non-linear viscoelastic solids. The development rests on the assumption that the family of creep curves which result from several different step-stress histories all have the same basic shape and can be mapped one upon another by a simple scaling. Application of a modified superposition principle to this assumption leads to a constitutive law for arbitrary stress histories with a single, convolution-type, integral. The non-linearity is accounted for by using a stress function, rather than the stress history itself, which arises naturally from the basic mapping assumption. The results are discussed with respect to a three-dimensional law and some experimental data are reviewed.
Migration and the family in colonial New England: the view from genealogies

This paper describes the migrations of the married men of six New England families from 1620 to 1850 using published genealogies as the data source. Their location at the time of vital events is used to investigate (1) per sistence rates; (2) distances between fathers, sons, and brothers during their life times ; and (3) the extent to which kin were found in the same community. Our data show more mobility than do town studies and reveal the importance of the nuclear family over more distant kin.
Leading SU(3) breaking in lightcone distribution amplitudes

The lightcone formalism including SU(3) breaking effects for the light pseudoscalar mesons is studied using soft-collinear effective theory (SCET), where the conformal symmetries needed for the expansion can be clearly implemented. The lightcone distribution amplitudes (LCDAs) are well defined at each order in the SCET power counting, $\ensuremath{\lambda}$. Relations between the LCDAs are reproduced using the SCET formalism. Treating the SU(3) breaking perturbatively, the leading breaking effects can be described in a simple manner. As a result, a new relationship among the LCDAs for the light mesons $\ensuremath{\pi}$, $K$, and $\ensuremath{\eta}$ is developed, valid to leading order in the SU(3) breaking.
Evolving microbes and re-emerging streptococcal disease

Microbes will evolve and the epidemics they cause will continue to occur in the future as they have in the past. Microbes emerge from the evolutionary stream as a result of genetic events and selective pressures that favor new over old. It is nature's way. Microbes and vectors swim in the evolutionary stream, and they swim much faster than humans. Bacteria reproduce every 30 minutes and, for them, a millennium is compressed into a fortnight. They are "fleet afoot," and the pace of research must keep up with them or they will overtake. Microbes were here on Earth 2 billion years before humans arrived, learning every trick of the trade for survival, and they are likely to be here 2 billion years after we depart. Current research on the rise and decline of epidemics is broadly based and includes evolutionary and population genetics of host-microbe relationships. Within this context, the 19th century pandemic of scarlet fever has been described. The possibility is raised that the GAS, which currently cause STSS, possess some of the virulence factors that caused pandemic scarlet fever. Furthermore, the GAS isolated during the recent outbreaks of ARF in certain locales in the United States have the virulence properties of the GAS frequently isolated in the first half of the 20th century. Finally, it is suggested that the strategy to confront emerging infectious diseases should be the study of infectious diseases from all points of view. They remain the greatest threats to our society.
Direct observation of the primary bond-twisting dynamics of stilbene anion radical.

The anion radicals of stilbenes in the collisionless isolated phase were synthesized by electron attachment, and their dynamics were observed in real time on the femtosecond time scale. The observed coherent vibrational motion (∼42 cm^(−1)) and the primary bond-twisting dynamics (∼650 fs) for the D_2 state are on a vastly different time scale from that reported (∼10 ns) in solution.
Regulatory T cell expression of CLA or α 4 β 7 and skin or gut acute GVHD outcomes

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a suppressive subset of CD4+ T lymphocytes implicated in the prevention of acute GVHD (aGVHD) after allo-SCT (ASCT). To determine whether increased frequency of Tregs with a skin-homing (cutaneous lymphocyte Ag, CLA+) or a gut-homing (α4β7+) phenotype is associated with reduced risk of skin or gut aGVHD, respectively, we quantified circulating CLA+ or α4β7+ on Tregs at the time of neutrophil engraftment in 43 patients undergoing ASCT. Increased CLA+ Tregs at engraftment was associated with the prevention of skin aGVHD (2.6 vs 1.7%; P=0.038 (no skin aGVHD vs skin aGVHD)), and increased frequencies of CLA+ and α4β7+ Tregs were negatively correlated with severity of skin aGVHD (odds ratio (OR), 0.67; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.46–0.98; P=0.041) or gut aGVHD (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88–0.99; P=0.031), respectively. This initial report suggests that Treg tissue-homing subsets help to regulate organ-specific risk and severity of aGVHD after human ASCT. These results need to be validated in a larger, multicenter cohort.
John Hyrcanus I's destruction of the gerizim temple and Judaean-Samaritan relations

In recent years there has been a surprising surge of scholarly interest in the Samaritans. Much of this interest some would say a disproportionate amount has focused on their ancient history, before the "classical" period whose beginning is marked by the literary activities of Marqah and Baba Rabba, assigned by most scholars to the 3rd or 4th centuries CE. Yet, despite the fact that Samaritan antiquity is so poorly attested, renewed scholarly interest in it is both understandable and appropriate. For we know enough about the ancient inhabitants of Samaritis (I use the district's Hellenistic name to distinguish it from the Greek city of Samaria) to appreciate their often critical importance for the history of the region and of ancient Judaism and Christianity. Most ancient Samaritans, like most ancient Judaeans and, later, Christians, seem to have considered themselves "Israelites" and to have acknowledged that they had some sort of special relationship with their southern neighbors. The main concern of this paper is to describe some of the complexities and vicissitudes of this relationship, which many scholars believe was an important factor in the formation of Jewish and Samaritan identity in Hellenistic and Roman antiquity. I will focus on a formative episode in Judaean-Samaritan relations, the destruction of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, near Shechem, by the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus I in the 120s BCE.
Brugia pahangi: Effects of duration of infection and parasite burden on lymphatic lesion severity, granulomatous hypersensitivity, and immune responses in jirds (Meriones unguiculatus)

The effects of Brugia pahangi infection duration and parasite burden on parasite-associated inflammatory and immune responses were determined over a 181-day period in jirds receiving from one to eight inoculations of infective larvae. Multiple infections did not produce a protective resistance to reinfection as determined by adult worm recovery at necropsy. Intralymphatic granulomatous lesions, lymph thrombi, were first seen at 48 days post initial inoculation (DPI). The numbers of lymph thrombi reached peak levels in singly inoculated jirds at 90 DPI and significantly decreased to low levels by 160 DPI. The ratio of lymph thrombi to adult worms recovered from the spermatic cord lymphatics followed a similar pattern. Sizes of renal lymph nodes, which drain lymphatics containing parasites, followed a temporal pattern of increase and decrease similar to that of lymph thrombi numbers. Peak granuloma areas around antigen-coated beads embolized in lungs were seen at 27 DPI. Granuloma areas around antigen-coated beads began to decrease after 69 DPI and reached sizes not significantly different from uninfected controls by 118 DPI. Multiple inoculations of infective larvae and increasing worm burdens did not affect the pattern of granulomatous response to antigen-coated beads. Eosinophilia of singly and multiply infected jirds peaked at 26 DPI. Eosinophilia of singly infected jirds returned to normal levels by 103 DPI but those of multiply infected jirds remained elevated until 160 DPI. Lymph node cell blastogenic responses to antigen were greater than those of splenocytes at all time intervals measured. However, significant differences in stimulation indexes between groups with different infection durations were not seen with either cell type. Antibody responses to somatic adult worm antigen as measured by ELISA reached near peak levels by 48 DPI and remained elevated for the course of the study in all infected jirds. The decrease in lymphatic lesion severity seen in chronically infected jirds temporally corresponds to the decrease in granulomatous reactivity measured around antigen-coated beads embolized in the lungs. This observation suggests that host and/or parasite factors associated with these two phenomena may be similar. Although these decreases may be the result of down-regulated immune responses, corresponding decreases in antibody levels and blastogenesis of lymphocytes stimulated by crude worm extracts were not observed in chronic infections.
The Sensitivity and Specificity of Depression Screening Tools Among Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

This study describes the validity and the sensitivity and specificity of depression screening tools among adults with intellectual and disabilities (ID). Subjects (N = 75) were interviewed with the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the Glasgow Depression Scale for People with a Learning Disability (GDS-LD) and also completed a clinical interview with the Psychiatric Assessment Schedule for Adults with Developmental Disabilities 10 (PAS-ADD 10). Comparing screening results to clinical interview, the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of the BDI-II is 0.90 and of the GDS-LD is 0.90. The sensitivity for the BDI-II is 89% and specificity 82% (score = 11). The sensitivity of the GDS-LD is 89% and specificity 82% (score = 13). Sensitivity and specificity are sufficient to identify individuals with ID who need depression treatment referral and who are suitable to participate in depression intervention research.
The effect of transverse shock propagation on the shock-to-detonation transition process for an insensitive explosive

Abstract The one-dimensional (1D) shock-to-detonation transition process has been studied extensively for PBX 9502, resulting in a good ability to predict the time or distance to detonation over a range of planar input shock pressures. The results are often represented as run distance or time versus input shock pressure on Pop plots. In practice, however, input shocks to explosives are often not 1D. Instead, they may be oblique or non-planar. Here, we present results from a series of experiments in which a PBX 9502 slab was bonded on one side to a PBX 9501 slab. The faster detonation in the PBX 9501 slab drove an oblique shock in the PBX 9502. The result was a two-dimensional (2D) shock structure consisting of a region of delayed reaction, referred to as an initiating layer, immediately adjacent to the PBX 9501/9502 interface, and a transition to detonation further from the interface. The initiating layer thickness varied with the input shock pressure, which was controlled by the thickness of the PBX 9501 layer. The results of seven such tests are presented in run-time versus input-shock-pressure space and compared to Pop plots generated with data from 1D experiments. Good agreement was observed, with the 2D results showing similar run-times to detonation, but more scatter for a given input shock pressure. The good correlation between the 1D and 2D data suggests the transverse component of the initiating shock does not have a significant effect on the initiation physics.
Some wave-propagation problems in plastic-viscoplastic materials

Abstract : Lubliner suggested that the uniaxial constitutive equation (1.1) be used in the numerical solution of wave-propagation problems, and that the results approximating those of either hypothesis may be obtained in extreme cases. He further showed on the basis of an extremely simple, piece-wise linear, model of plastic-viscoplastic behavior, that results approaching the viscoplastic hypothesis will be obtained under one or more of the following circumstances: (1) weak impact, (2) long bar, (3) short 'relaxation' time (or natural time of the material); that converse conditions will lead to results approaching the plastic hypothesis; and that intermediate conditions require the use of the general constitutive equation. The purpose of the present study is to test further the validity of Lubliner's suggestions by means of numerical solutions of representative wave-propagation problems in bars whose mechanical behavior is described by the uniaxial constitutive equation, slightly modified to account for loading-unloading behavior.
Moving ahead with the PCMH: some progress, but more testing needed.

The current plight of the primary care delivery system has been well described. Whether due to low reimbursement rates, low perceived prestige, or a chaotic and uncoordinated style of practice that has evolved under fee-for-service reimbursement, the US primary care system is at a crossroads. Many primary care physicians are approaching retirement age and few graduating medical students are choosing to enter primary care. Current projections show a marked shortfall in the number of primary care physicians needed to provide care, and these projections predate the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which will bring some 30-plus million persons into the primary care system.1 Simply stated, the financing, organization, and delivery of primary care services must change, or within a relatively short period of time, there will be no functioning primary care system in the US.
Serotonin-induced pulmonary responses in the perfused guinea pig lung: evidence for 5HT2 receptor-mediated pulmonary vascular and airway smooth muscle constriction.

Summary The isolated perfused guine apig lung was used to investigate pharmacologic characteristics of serotonin receptors in pulmonary vascular and airway smooth muscle. Serotonin caused a marked dose-related increase in pulmonary arterial pressure and peak intratracheal pessure when injected into the pulmonary artery. In contrast to serotonin, 5-carboxamidotryptamine, a 5HT 1A and 5HT 1B receptor agonist, and 2-methylserotonin, a 5HT 3 receptor agonist produced only weak vascular and airway responses. Furthermore, vasoconstriction and bronchoconstriction elicited by serotonin were antagonized by the potent 5HT 2 receptor antagonists, LY53857, ketanserin, and ritanserin. Antagonist specificity for 5HT 2 receptors was demonstrated in the perfused guinea pig lung since similar responses induced by histamine were not blocked. High concentrations of serotonin were tachyphylactic on vascular but not airway constriction. Tachyphylaxis of vascular responses was not observed to an equipotent concentration of leukotriene D 4 (LTD 4 ). Thus, both the pulmonary vascular and airway constriction to serotonin were predominately due to 5HT 2 receptor activation. Furthermore, tachyphylaxis of vascular responses to serotonin might prove useful to differentiate 5HT receptor systems in pulmonary blood vessels from those in airways.
Perception of Physically Impaired Job Applicants: Effect of Dress, Credentials, and Rater's Sex:

Male and female managerial level employers evaluated bogus physically impaired job applicants for whom dress and credentials had been varied. The research design was a 3x2x2 factorial, with the ind...