cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Simultaneous synergist, antagonistic and additive interactions between multiple local stressors all degrade algal turf communities on coral reefs

Ecological communities are subjected to multiple anthropogenic stressors at both global and local scales that are increasing in number and magnitude. Stressors can interact in complex ways and are classified as additive, synergistic or antagonistic; the nature of the interaction is key to predicting changes and understanding community resilience. Coral reefs are among the most impacted communities and have shifted from coral- to algal-dominated states, and overfishing, nutrient enrichment and sedimentation are local stressors that often co-occur and may support degraded algal states. Short algal turfs are abundant benthic space holders on healthy reefs that may be pushed by local stressors to long algal turfs, a more degraded state that may prevent recovery to coral dominance. We conducted a fully crossed three-factor field experiment on short algal turf communities manipulating herbivory pressure (+/−cages), nutrients (+/−fertilizer) and sediments (natural accumulation/removal). We applied stressors for 16 days, removed them and monitored turf height during and after manipulations. We found that significant pair-wise interactions between all stressors pushed the community towards a degraded state with longer algal turfs. All three types of interactions (additive, synergistic and antagonistic) were common and occurred in equal frequency, suggesting more investigations into all types are needed to accurately predict community responses to multiple stressors. For example, when herbivores were present, nutrients and sediments interacted additively, while in the absence of herbivores, nutrients and sediments interacted synergistically. All interactions broke down following termination of experimental manipulations and all effects were undetectable after 49 days, indicating that this reef may be resilient, at least when stressors are applied on a short time-scale. Synthesis. Because management of local stressors is often more tractable than global stressors, local management has been proposed as a means to offset global stressors. However, ecological communities often experience multiple local stressors simultaneously, and interactions between stressors, including synergisms and antagonisms, may be the source of nonlinear shifts in communities or “ecological surprises.” The majority of interactions in our study were both strong and nonlinear, and we suggest that, if pervasive across systems, nonlinear interactions may drive the recent global increase in “ecological surprises.”
Black hands push back: Reconsidering the rhetoric of Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington has long been considered a great compromiser—but not in a way that reflects positively on him. In his infamous Atlanta Exposition Address, he supposedly compromised with the se...
Zero Shot Transfer Learning for Robot Soccer

We present a method for doing zero-shot transfer of multi-agent policies as the number of teammates, opponents, and environment size varies. We apply our approach to RoboCup inspired test domains, where it is necessary for policies to adapt to changing numbers of robots due to in-game breakages. We introduce the concept of encoding not only the states as an image, but also the action space as a multi-channel image, which allows the state and action size to remain fixed across team size changes. We also introduce Fully Convolutional Q-Networks, which represent Q-functions in this space using Fully Convolutional Networks. We present results for zero-shot transfer of these policies across team sizes and field sizes, showing that performance remains consistent as both change.
Earth scale below a part per billion from Satellite Laser Ranging

Since the LAGEOS I satellite was launched in 1976, the systematic instrument error of the best satellite laser ranging observatories has been steadily reduced to the current level of only a few millimeters. Advances in overall system accuracy, in conjunction with improved satellite, Earth, orbit perturbation and relativity modeling, now allows us to determine the value of the geocentric gravitational coefficient (GM) to less than a part per billion (ppb). This precision has been confirmed by observations of the LAGEOS II satellite, and is supported by results from Starlette, albeit at a lower level of precision. When we consider observations from other geodetic satellites orbiting at a variety of altitudes and carrying somewhat more complex retro-reflector arrays, we obtain consistent measures of scale, which however must be based upon empirically determined, satellite-dependent detector characteristics. We arrive at an estimate of GM of 398600.44187 +/-.00020 km3/sec2, which lies within the 2 ppb uncertainty of the current standard, but differs from it by more than the error of the new estimate. Both the current standard and our recommended value fall comfortably within the ten ppb uncertainty of that determined from the most accurate alternative from lunar laser ranging observations. The precision of the estimate of GM from satellite laser ranging has improved by an order of magnitude in each of the last two decades, and we will discuss projected advances which will result in further refinements of this measure of Earth scale.
The Role of StAR in Leydig Cell Steroidogenesis

The steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein mediates the rate-limiting step in steroidogenesis, the transfer of cholesterol from the outer mitochondrial membrane to the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it is cleaved to form pregnenlone. Its indispensable role in steroidogenesis was demonstrated by showing that mutations in the StAR gene in humans cause the lipoid form of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a potentially lethal disease resulting from an inability to synthesize steroids. Also, StAR-null mice have a phenotype that is identical to that seen in human mutations. The mechanism whereby StAR mediates the transfer of cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane remains a mystery. This review will attempt to summarize what is currently known about the mechanism of action of StAR and argue that an understanding of the role played by StAR and other proteins in intramitochondrial cholesterol transfer constitutes the biggest challenge in understanding the acute regulation of steroidogenesis.
Hormone in der Tiermast

Eine bekannte englische Redensart besagt, das “the peoples of the world and particularly their armies travel an their stomachs”. Erzeugung von Nahrungsmitteln und deren standiger Nachschub sind die vielleicht kritischsten Faktoren fur die Aufrechterhaltung des Wachstums, der Wirtschaft und der Sicherheit einer Nation. Besonders augenfallig geworden ist diese Tatsache in Kriegszeiten, als Nahrungsmittel rationiert werden musten. Die amerikanische Bevolkerung ist an einen hoheren Fleischkonsum gewohnt als die meisten anderen Volker, wenngleich man Fleisch auch immer noch als den Luxus in der taglichen Nahrung bezeichnen mus. Vor allem durch die Aufklarung der Offentlichkeit uber den Nahrwert von Fleisch und anderen tierischen Produkten ist der Fleischverbrauch in den Vereinigten Staaten wahrend der letzten Jahre stark angestiegen und man schatzt, das der Fleischanteil in der menschlichen Ernahrung heutzutage etwa 25% des Gesamteiweis- und 15% des Caloriengehalts ausmacht. Der jahrliche Pro-Kopf-Verbrauch tierischer Produkte einschlieslich Fleisch, Fisch, Milchprodukte, Eier usw. ist in den USA im Durchschnitt auf etwa 295 kg angestiegen. Davon entfallen etwa 91 kg auf Rindfleisch, Kalbfleisch, Schweine- und Hammelfleisch, Geflugel und Fisch. Auf der anderen Seite hat der Verbrauch kohlenhydratreicher Nahrungsmittel wie Getreideprodukte, Kartoffeln, Zucker usw. abgenommen Im Jahre 1958 gliederte sich der Pro-Kopf-Verbrauch an Fleisch folgendermasen auf: 36,3 kg Rindfleisch, 3,18 kg Kalbfleisch, 27,7 kg Schweinefleisch, 15,4 kg Geflugel- und 1,81 kg Lamm- und Hammelfleisch.
Risk of Cesarean Delivery among Nulliparous Asian-Indian Women with Term Singleton Pregnancies.

Objective Asian-Indian women are a growing population in the United States, but little data exist about their risk of cesarean delivery (CD). We characterize the odds of CD among Asian-Indian women and determine whether neonatal birth weight modifies this relationship. Study Design This is a retrospective cohort study using an administrative perinatal database from California. We identified 1,029,940 nulliparous women with live, singleton, nonanomalous deliveries between 37 and 42 completed weeks of gestation. We performed multivariable logistic regression analyses to determine if Asian-Indian women were more likely to deliver by CD, compared with white non-Hispanic women, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables. We explored if birth weight was an effect modifier, testing the interaction term's significance using Wald's test, and performed multivariable logistic regressions stratified by birth weight category. Results Asian-Indian women comprised 2.0% of the cohort. Compared with white non-Hispanic women, Asian-Indian women had an adjusted odds of 1.41 (95% confidence interval: 1.36–1.46) for CD. However, we noted effect modification of birth weight on the odds of CD by race/ethnicity (p Conclusion Asian-Indian women are at greater risk of CD than white non-Hispanic women when birthweight exceeds 3,000 g.
CHAPTER 24 – Computer Analysis of Nuclear Cardiology Procedures

This chapter examines how cardiac single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images are processed by computer to provide physicians with valuable displays and analyses of the images. Advancements in computer methods have evolved in key areas such as total automation, data-based quantification of myocardial perfusion, measurement of parameters of left-ventricular global and regional function, three-dimensional displays of myocardial perfusion and function, image fusion and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), and data mining techniques in decision support systems. Assistance in the interpretation of medical images by decision-support systems has made significant progress, mostly because of the implementation of AI. This chapter emphasizes on two AI techniques that are currently being applied to nuclear medicine, namely, expert systems and neural networks. These advancements in computer methods applied to higher-quality images from instrumentation advancements have resulted in tools that allow clinicians to make a more comprehensive and accurate assessment of their patient's myocardial status. The advancements have continued to strengthen the already strong role of myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging in the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease.
Behavioral functions underlying NSSI and eating disorder behaviors.

Objective This study examined whether the psychological functions motivating eating disorder (ED) and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors are similar, thereby representing shared mechanisms accounting for their high co-occurrence. Method Self-report data assessing NSSI, ED symptoms, and behavioral functions were collected from 676 adults with recent NSSI (past 6 months; n = 333) or disordered eating ( n = 343). Results Measurement invariance analyses revealed the same function-factor structure for ED and NSSI behaviors for 8 out of 13 scales. Comparisons of scalar latent means showed that some functions, while relevant to both behaviors, were rated as subjectively more salient to engaging in either ED or NSSI behavior. Conclusions Similar functions have relevance to understanding engagement in NSSI and ED, but important differences exist in the subjective salience of each function. Treatments focusing on the shared functions of NSSI and ED may have greater success in simultaneously decreasing engagement in these behaviors.
Climate-related uncertainties in urban exposure to sea level rise and storm surge flooding: a multi-temporal and multi-scenario analysis

Abstract Climate change-induced sea level rise and intensified storms pose emerging flood threats to global coastal urban areas. While such threats have been mapped, their uncertainties from different climate scenarios and longer planning horizons have yet to be addressed from both an exposure assessment and a stakeholder outreach perspective. Therefore, we chose the highly urbanized San Francisco Bay Area as an example to project its flood areas every 20 years between 2000 and 2100, under 24 varied climate scenarios with two greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration levels. We then assessed flood exposure by intersecting the flood areas with demographic and socioeconomic distributions, developed areas, lifeline infrastructures, and emergency responders in low elevation (
SMALL POLARON FORMATION AND MOTION OF HOLES IN a-SiO2*

ABSTRACT X-ray generated holes in SiO2 are observed to be reduced to low mobility in times of the order of vibrational periods, 10-12 s. The temperature dependence, electric field dependence and magnitude of this mobility for times up to about 100 ns are consistent with those of hole-like small polarons. The circumstances which favor the occurrence of rapid small polaron formation are a large effective mass (narrow valence band), the presence of the long-range hole-lattice interaction characteristic of an ionic material and the presence of disorder, all of which are found in amorphous SiO2. An alternative explanation involving trapping requires an extremely large localized state density and fortuitous temperature and field dependences of the hopping rates.
Patient-Oriented Workflow Approach

Patient-oriented workflow refers to decoupling workflow from the personnel who work in formal settings and coupling it, instead, to the patient, who is at the center of all work and who spans all settings, formal and informal. Patient-oriented workflow provides a holistic perspective that can inform the design of health information technology, organizational design, implementation and evaluation efforts. Both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used to study patient-oriented workflow. In this chapter we presented the use of patient-oriented workflow in various settings including emergency departments, daily living environments, nursing homes and skilled home health care. To successfully redesign healthcare delivery, as well as design and implement HIT that can account for care across the entire patient journey, healthcare delivery must be examined as an integrated system of a longitudinal process rather than a cluster of discrete tasks/processes in isolated environments. Patient-oriented workflow can provide the needed integrated perspective.
Fate of residual ureteral stump in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical nephroureterectomy for high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Background: Management of the distal ureter in radical nephroureterectomy and bladder cuff excision (RNUBCE) is paramount, directly influencing oncologic outcomes. Herein, we analyze the natural history of patients who have undergone robotic radical nephroureterectomy without formal bladder cuff excision and retained ureteral stump and compare this cohort with patients undergoing formal RNUBCE for high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). Methods: From February 2008 to October 2018, all patients who underwent robotic RNUBCE by multiple surgeons in a single institution for high-risk UTUC were reviewed. Preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative variables were investigated. Overall survival, cancer specific survival, local recurrence-free survival, distant recurrence-free survival, and bladder recurrence-free survival were compared between the two cohorts. Further management treatments were explored for patients with retained ureteral stump. Follow-up consisted of abdominopelvic/chest imaging and cystoscopy at regular intervals. Results: A total of 105 patients underwent robotic RNU during the above time period. Of patients with documented 6-month follow-up, approximately 6.6% of patients had retained ureteral stump. Median follow-up for the entire cohort was 31.5 months with a range of 6 to 114.2 months. Factors that precluded formal BCE were densely, fibrotic reaction near the ureterovesical junction due to prior vascular or pelvic surgery in 5 patients, severe pyonephrosis and continued anesthetic risk in one patient, and surgeon choice (patient co-morbidities) in another patient. Three patients died with metastatic disease and one patient succumbed to cardiovascular compromise. Two additional patients developed local recurrence only at the level of the ureteral stump, with one patient undergoing eventual distal excision, contralateral RNUBCE and radical cystectomy. Conclusions: In these cases, responsibilities assumed by the surgeon demand the utmost in judgement and skill; however, at times, circumstances prevail such as patient factors and nature/biology of the disease. These factors may prevent adequate excision the complete ureter, ureterovesical junction, and bladder cuff at the time of RNU. In this robotic cohort of patients undergoing RNUBCE for UTUC, not excising the most distal part of the ureter directly translates to inferior oncologic outcomes. Complete ureteral excision with bladder cuff should be performed where possible as this is an integral part of the radical nephroureterectomy. Also, if feasible, adjunctive chemotherapy/immunotherapy treatments should be considered.
Use, Perceived Usability, and Barriers to Implementation of a Patient Safety Dashboard Integrated within a Vendor EHR.

Background Preventable adverse events continue to be a threat to hospitalized patients. Clinical decision support in the form of dashboards may improve compliance with evidence-based safety practices. However, limited research describes providers' experiences with dashboards integrated into vendor electronic health record (EHR) systems. Objective This study was aimed to describe providers' use and perceived usability of the Patient Safety Dashboard and discuss barriers and facilitators to implementation. Methods The Patient Safety Dashboard was implemented in a cluster-randomized stepped wedge trial on 12 units in neurology, oncology, and general medicine services over an 18-month period. Use of the Dashboard was tracked during the implementation period and analyzed in-depth for two 1-week periods to gather a detailed representation of use. Providers' perceptions of tool usability were measured using the Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale (rated 1–5). Research assistants conducted field observations throughout the duration of the study to describe use and provide insight into tool adoption. Results The Dashboard was used 70% of days the tool was available, with use varying by role, service, and time of day. On general medicine units, nurses logged in throughout the day, with many logins occurring during morning rounds, when not rounding with the care team. Prescribers logged in typically before and after morning rounds. On neurology units, physician assistants accounted for most logins, accessing the Dashboard during daily brief interdisciplinary rounding sessions. Use on oncology units was rare. Satisfaction with the tool was highest for perceived ease of use, with attendings giving the highest rating (4.23). The overall lowest rating was for quality of work life, with nurses rating the tool lowest (2.88). Conclusion This mixed methods analysis provides insight into the use and usability of a dashboard tool integrated within a vendor EHR and can guide future improvements and more successful implementation of these types of tools.
Enabling discoveries: a review of 30 years of advanced technologies and instrumentation at the National Science Foundation

Over its more than 30-year history, the Advanced Technologies and Instrumentation (ATI) program has provided grants to support technology development and instrumentation for ground-based astronomy. Through a combination of automated literature assessment and in-depth literature review, we present a survey of ATI-funded research and its impact on astronomy and society. Award acknowledgment and literature citation statistics for ATI are comparable to a comparison astronomy grant program that does not support technology development. Citation statistics for both NSF-funded programs exceed those of the general astronomical literature. Numerous examples demonstrate the significant, long-term impact of ATI-supported research in astronomy. As part of this impact, ATI grants have provided many early career researchers the opportunity to gain critical professional experience. However, technology development unfolds over a time period that is longer than an individual grant. A longitudinal perspective shows that investments in technology and instrumentation have led to extraordinary scientific progress.
Commonality in the Time-Variation of Stock-Stock and Stock-Bond Return Comovements

We jointly investigate time-varying comovements between stock returns across countries and between long-term government bond and stock returns within countries. Our focus is on how daily return comovements vary with stock uncertainty, as measured by the implied volatility (IV) from equity index options. Cross-country stock return comovements tend to be stronger (weaker) following high (low) IV days and on days with large (small) changes in IV. Stock-bond return comovements tend to be substantially positive (negative) following low (high) IV days and on days with small (large) changes in IV. A regime-switching analysis also indicates a striking temporal commonality in the stock?stock and stock-bond comovement variations. Our findings bear on understanding the influence of time-varying uncertainty on price formation and the diversification benefits of stock-bond and cross-country stock holdings.
Improving metabarcoding taxonomic assignment: A case study of fishes in a large marine ecosystem

DNA metabarcoding is an important tool for molecular ecology. However, its effectiveness hinges on the quality of reference sequence databases and classification parameters employed. Here we evaluate the performance of MiFish 12S taxonomic assignments using a case study of California Current Large Marine Ecosystem fishes to determine best practices for metabarcoding. Specifically, we use a taxonomy cross-validation by identity framework to compare classification performance between a global database comprised of all available sequences and a curated database that only includes sequences of fishes from the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. We demonstrate that the regional database provides higher assignment accuracy than the comprehensive global database. We also document a tradeoff between accuracy and misclassification across a range of taxonomic cutoff scores, highlighting the importance of parameter selection for taxonomic classification. Furthermore, we compared assignment accuracy with and without the inclusion of additionally generated reference sequences. To this end, we sequenced tissue from 597 species using the MiFish 12S primers, adding 252 species to GenBank's existing 550 California Current Large Marine Ecosystem fish sequences. We then compared species and reads identified from seawater environmental DNA samples using global databases with and without our generated references, and the regional database. The addition of new references allowed for the identification of 16 additional native taxa representing 17.0% of total reads from eDNA samples, including species with vast ecological and economic value. Together these results demonstrate the importance of comprehensive and curated reference databases for effective metabarcoding and the need for locus-specific validation efforts.
Diagnostic Accuracy of SSEP Changes During Lumbar Spine Surgery for Predicting Postoperative Neurological Deficit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Study design This study is a meta-analysis of prospective and retrospective studies identified in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase with outcomes of patients who received intraoperative SSEP monitoring during lumbar spine surgery. Objective The objective of this study is to determine the diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative lower extremity (LE) SSEP changes for predicting postoperative neurological deficit. As a secondary analysis, we evaluated three subtypes of intraoperative SSEP changes: reversible, irreversible, and total signal loss. Summary of background data Lumbar decompression and fusion surgery can treat lumbar spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis but carry a risk for nerve root injury. Published neurophysiological monitoring guidelines provide no conclusive evidence for the clinical utility of intraoperative somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring during lumbar spine surgery. Methods A systematic review was conducted to identify studies with outcomes of patients who underwent lumbar spine surgeries with intraoperative SSEP monitoring. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were calculated and presented with forest plots and a summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results The study cohort consisted of 5,607 patients. All significant intraoperative SSEP changes had a sensitivity of 44% and specificity of 97% with a DOR of 22.13 (95% CI, 11.30-43.34). Reversible and irreversible SSEP changes had sensitivities of 28% and 33% and specificities of 97% and 97%, respectively. The DORs for reversible and irreversible SSEP changes were 13.93 (95% CI, 4.60-40.44) and 57.84 (95% CI, 15.95-209.84), respectively. Total loss of SSEPs had a sensitivity of 9% and specificity of 99% with a DOR of 23.91 (95% CI, 7.18-79.65). Conclusion SSEP changes during lumbar spine surgery are highly specific but moderately sensitive for new postoperative neurological deficits. Patients who had postoperative neurological deficit were 22 times more likely to have exhibited intraoperative SSEP changes.Level of Evidence: 2.
Disparities in end-of-life inpatient care received by patients with metastatic cancer, 2010 to 2017.

12008Background: Many patients with metastatic cancer receive high-cost, low-value care near the end of life. We examined interventions during terminal hospitalizations for patients with metastatic...
A Porous Microstructured Dielectric Layer Based Pressure Sensor for Wearable Applications

A novel porous microstructured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) dielectric layer-based pressure sensor was developed for wearable applications. The porous micros-square structured (PMS-PDMS) dielectric layer was fabricated by using porous PDMS mixture and laser engraved acrylic master mold. The top and bottom electrodes of the pressure sensor were fabricated by screen printing silver (Ag) on a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film, which was attached to a stretchable fabric using heat-lamination process. The PMS dielectric layer was sandwiched between the top and bottom electrodes using thin layer of adhesive PDMS. A relative capacitance change of 5% and 30% with a sensitivity of 4.98% kPa-1 and 2.53% kPa-1 was obtained for varying applied pressures ranging from 0 to 1 kPa, and 1 to 100 kPa, respectively.
Dynamic Cardiac SPECT for diagnostic and theranostics applications: latest results

To cost-effectively satisfy the high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, and SNR needs for cardiac SPECT imaging that has not been met with the conventional gamma camera, we are developing Dynamic Cardiac SPECT (DC-SPECT) for diagnostic and theranostics applications featuring: static body-contouring geometry with large detector coverage (~225 deg), large number of views using 80 detector modules each with a dedicated loft-hole collimator, and laser-processed CsI:Tl with converging pixels to avoid depth of interaction (DOI) blurring. The DC-SPECT design is based on using 10 mm thick CsI:Tl scintillators that can provide high stopping power for gamma-ray energies beyond the 140 keV. Given the DOI blurring issue inherent with pinhole collimators, the CsI:Tl pixels in our detectors have converging pixel volumes with a focal length equal to the detector-pinhole distance. Geometry optimization show that at 15 mm fixed resolution, DC-SPECT's sensitivity is 15x larger than that of a gamma camera. At 0.01% sensitivity, 4.1 mm resolution can be achieved which is close to whole-body PET. Also, at 10 mm resolution, sensitivity of ~0.07%can be achieved. Note that the resolution values are without employing resolution recovery techniques. We have laser-processed multiple CsI:Tl crystals using a programmable femtosecond high power laser. Flood map of laser processed 17.4x17.4x6 mm3 detector coupled to Hamamatsu MPPC array shows that all pixel-like volumes can be resolved even with the unfavorable geometry imposed by the converging pixels. Another laser processed CsI:Tl crystal (50x50x10 mm3) coupled to SensL SiPM show that while most pixels are resolved, the 20% QE of the SiPM at 550nm (peak wavelength of CsI:Tl) compared with 35% of the MPPC array results in deteriorated flood map quality and lower energy resolution (~250/0 at 122 keV). We are now optimizing the laser process and readout electronics to improve flood map quality before implementing detector and collimator integration for phantom studies
Pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage: A systematic review of causes, diagnostic modalities, and outcomes in patients who present with pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background Patients with computed tomography (CT) findings consistent with subarachnoid hemorrhage without evidence of hemorrhage following autopsy or cerebrospinal fluid testing are termed to have pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage (pSAH). Methods A systematic review of literature was conducted based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis statement. Studies were evaluated for associated cause of pSAH, imaging modality used in assessment, method of confirmatory testing, and clinical outcome. Results Fifty studies were included in qualitative analysis including 197 cases of pSAH. Systematic review revealed 23 studies including 110 patients with pSAH attributed to hypoxic-ischemic brain injury following cardiac arrest. Three studies were included in meta-analysis that quantitatively analyzed differences in CT densities in patients with pSAH and true subarachnoid hemorrhage (true SAH). A random effects model meta-analysis showed a statistically significant decrease in densities in the Sylvian fissure in patients with pSAH compared to true SAH and a statistically significant decrease in densities in adjacent parenchyma in patients with pSAH compared to true SAH. Systematic review further revealed 32 patients with pSAH associated with spontaneous intracranial hypotension, 11 patients with pSAH related to infectious etiologies, 15 patients with pSAH associated with subdural hemorrhage, 20 cases of pSAH related to hyperhemoglobinemia, 2 cases related to valproate toxicity, and individual cases related to hyponatremia, diabetic ketoacidosis, sudden infant death syndrome, cerebellar infarction, and dialysis disequilibrium syndrome. Conclusion This study is the first systematic review of causes, diagnostic modalities, and outcomes in patients who present with pSAH. A diagnosis of pSAH may be considered following assessment of CT densities following cardiac arrest.
Psychostimulants affect dopamine transmission through both dopamine transporter-dependent and independent mechanisms

The precise mechanisms by which cocaine and amphetamine-like psychostimulants exert their reinforcing effects are not yet fully defined. It is widely believed, however, that these drugs produce their effects by enhancing dopamine neurotransmission in the brain, especially in limbic areas such as the nucleus accumbens, by inducing dopamine transporter-mediated reverse transport and/or blocking dopamine reuptake though the dopamine transporter. Here, we present the evidence that aside from dopamine transporter, non-dopamine transporter-mediated mechanisms also participate in psychostimulant-induced dopamine release and contribute to the behavioral effects of these drugs, such as locomotor activation and reward. Accordingly, psychostimulants could increase norepinephrine release in the prefrontal cortex, the latter then alters the firing pattern of dopamine neurons resulting in changes in action potential-dependent dopamine release. These alterations would further affect the temporal pattern of dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, thereby modifying information processing in that area. Hence, a synaptic input to a nucleus accumbens neuron may be enhanced or inhibited by dopamine depending on its temporal relationship to dopamine release. Specific temporal patterns of dopamine release may also be required for certain forms of synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens. Together, these effects induced by psychostimulants, mediated through a non-dopamine transporter-mediated mechanism involving norepinephrine and the prefrontal cortex, may also contribute importantly to the reinforcing properties of these drugs.
Why Firms Diversify: An Empirical Examination

There is substantial evidence that the market placed a lower value on diversified than specialized firms during the 1980's (Lang and Stulz (1994) and Berger and Ofek (1995)). However, many firms diversified anyway. This paper addresses the question, "Why do firms diversify in the first place?" I use the Compustat segment tapes to investigate firms which are specialized and then become diversified. I find that not all segment changes represent economic events. I test the hypothesis that firms diversify due to agency costs between managers and shareholders. Looking at managerial ownership I do not find evidence of agency costs but it is possible that managerial ownership is not a good indicator of agency costs. I test the hypothesis that diversifying firms may be primarily in low growth industries and reject this hypothesis. I find evidence that diversifying firms have slightly worse financial performance than their specialized counterparts. They have free cash available to diversify or more likely have built up their cash balance to make an acquisition. The most significant explanation I find for firm diversification is that diversifying firms have not engaged in as much research and development as their non-diversifying counterparts. In order to grow or perhaps even maintain their current status, they must buy growth in areas outside of their current operations.
Compressing 3d measurement data under interval uncertainty

The existing image and data compression techniques try to minimize the mean square deviation between the original data f(x,y,z) and the compressed-decompressed data $\widetilde f(x,y,z)$. In many practical situations, reconstruction that only guaranteed mean square error over the data set is unacceptable. For example, if we use the meteorological data to plan a best trajectory for a plane, then what we really want to know are the meteorological parameters such as wind, temperature, and pressure along the trajectory. If along this line, the values are not reconstructed accurately enough, the plane may crash – and the fact that on average, we get a good reconstruction, does not help. In general, what we need is a compression that guarantees that for each (x,y), the difference $|f(x,y,z)-\widetilde f(x,y,z)|$ is bounded by a given value Δ – i.e., that the actual value f(x,y,z) belongs to the interval$$[\widetilde f(x,y,z)-\Delta,\widetilde f(x,y,z)+\Delta].$$ In this paper, we describe new efficient techniques for data compression under such interval uncertainty.
Branch Elimination via Multi-Variable Condition Merging

Conditional branches are expensive. Branches require a significant percentage of execution cycles since they occur frequently and cause pipeline flushes when mispredicted. In addition, branches result in forks in the control flow, which can prevent other code-improving transformations from being applied. In this paper we describe profile-based techniques for replacing the execution of a set of two or more branches with a single branch on a conventional scalar processor. First, we gather profile information to detect the frequently executed paths in a program. Second, we detect sets of conditions in frequently executed paths that can be merged into a single condition. Third, we estimate the benefit of merging each set of conditions. Finally, we restructure the control flow to merge the sets that are deemed beneficial. The results show that eliminating branches by merging conditions can significantly reduce the number of conditional branches performed in non-numerical applications.
Conciliatory Gestures Facilitate Forgiveness and Feelings of Friendship by Making Transgressors Appear More Agreeable

The authors examined how conciliatory gestures exhibited in response to interpersonal transgressions influence forgiveness and feelings of friendship with the transgressor. In Study 1, 163 undergraduates who had recently been harmed were examined longitudinally. Conciliatory gestures exhibited by transgressors predicted higher rates of forgiveness over 21 days, and this relationship was mediated by victims' perceptions of their transgressors' Agreeableness. Study 2 was an experiment including 145 undergraduates who experienced a breach in trust from an anonymous partner during an iterated prisoner's dilemma. When transgressors apologized and offered financial compensation, participants reported higher levels of forgiveness and feelings of friendship when compared to a control condition and an aggravating condition. The effects of apology/compensation on forgiveness and perceived friendship were mediated by victims' perceptions of their transgressors' Agreeableness. Results suggest that conciliatory gestures promote forgiveness in part by depicting transgressors as more sympathetic, considerate, fair, and just (i.e., agreeable).
Constructing the Threat and the Role of the Expert Witness: A Response to Aziz Rana’s Who Decides on Security?

Aziz Rana’s article presents clearly the overlooked but crucial question of “Who Decides on Security?” Namely, is determining who or what groups constitute a threat something that we are capable of making ourselves, or must we necessarily cede that authority to those in power — who supposedly have both the access to knowledge and the ability to understand it — to protect us from threats we cannot perceive? Using Rana’s historical analysis as a framework, this Article builds on his thesis to show how the wide latitude granted to the conclusions of the Executive Branch’s national security specialists in political matters has migrated into the criminal justice system. This Article focuses on the specific example of expert witnesses in federal criminal terrorism prosecutions and demonstrates that courts have been overly deferential in allowing such individuals to testify as experts. As a result, courts admit too much expert testimony of questionable methodology and reliability against defendants charged with terrorist crimes. This Article provides several examples of the phenomenon of deference to the government’s experts, as well as a focused critique of the practice of using experts to win convictions in such cases.
El cuerpo femenino y el concepto de belleza en dos cuentos de Carmen Naranjo

Este estudio consiste en una lectura detallada de los cuentos "Ondina" y "Simbiosis del encuentro", de Carmen Naranjo. Siguiendo ciertos postulados de Michel Foucault y de algunas teorias feministas, el analisis de ambos cuentos sugiere que Naranjo propone una manera de resistir y confrontar los patrones socialmente establecidos con respecto al cuerpo femenino. Naranjo desmitifica el concepto de belleza femenina, y a partir de esta desmitificacion, invita a que ya no sea mas el cuerpo lo que defina a la mujer.
Simulation of the Direct Methanol Fuel Cell I. Thermodynamic Framework for a Multicomponent Membrane

A theoretical framework that describes the equilibrium of species in a multicomponent membrane is presented. This framework considers explicitly first-order nonidealities that describe the interactions between pairs of species in a multicomponent membrane (e.g., Nafion). These binary interaction parameters are fit to methanol and water uptake data for liquid methanol solutions. A chemical model is combined with this framework to describe uptake of water vapor by the membrane over the entire range of relative humidity. The framework established here provides a means to describe the gradients in electrochemical potential for species in the membrane when describing the driving forces for multicomponent transport in a second companion paper. This paper describes equilibrium conditions; the second paper considers nonequilibrium conditions (transport and reaction kinetics). The modeling aspects are combined in a third paper to simulate the direct methanol fuel cell and quantify aspects of its design.
The Light Variations of the Nuclei in Herbig-Haro Object No. 2, 1946–1968

The first three of the peculiar semi-stellar emission nebulae now known as Herbig-Haro objects were detected by Herbig (1948, 1951) and by Haro (1950, 1952). The initial discoveries were made in the region south of the Orion Nebula, but a total of about 40 such Objects have now been found in Orion, Taurus, Perseus, and elsewhere. All known examples occur in heavily-obscured regions that are also rich in T Tauri stars. A number of other very small nebulous spots have been observed by Haro (1953, Table 2), Mendez (1967) and others, particularly near the Orion Nebula, but these are spectro-scopically distinct from the H-H Objects in having either a strong continuum especially in the near infrared, or a rather conventional emission spectrum. The H-H Objects have quite characteristic emission spectra: the H emission lines are strong, and [0 I] and [S II] are unusually intense. The [N II] lines are also strong, and in those Objects not too heavily reddened, [O II] λλ3726-29 as well. These properties can be explained (Bohm 1956, Osterbrock 1958) if H and O are only partially ionized, and if Te ≈ 7500° and ne ≈ ≈ 3 × 103 cm−3. Only the brightest of the H-H Objects, Herbig No. 1 (= Haro 11a, near NGC 1999) has been observed in any detail. It shows a number of weaker emission lines that are not ordinarily found in appreciable strength in gaseous nebulae: H and K of Ca II, the infrared [Ca II] lines, Mg I λ4571, and lines of [Fe II] and [Fe III]. It is significant that many T Tauri stars show, in integrated light, nebular lines very similar to those of the H-H Objects.
Differential physiologic responses of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors to β‐amyloid1–40 and β‐amyloid1–42

The β-amyloid peptides (Aβ), Aβ 1 - 4 0 and Aβ 1 - 4 2 , have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. Although Aβ 1 - 4 2 is generally considered to be the pathological peptide in AD, both Aβ 1 - 4 0 and Aβ 1 - 4 2 , have been used in a variety of experimental models without discrimination. Here we show that monomeric or oligomeric forms of the two Aβ peptides, when interact with the neuronal cation channel, a7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (a7nAChR), would result in distinct physiologic responses as measured by acetylcholine release and calcium influx experiments. While Aβ 1 - 4 2 effectively attenuated these a7nAChR-dependent physiology to an extent that was apparently irreversible, Aβ 1 - 4 0 showed a lower inhibitory activity that could be restored upon washings with physiologic buffers or treatment with a7nAChR antagonists. Our data suggest a clear pharmacological distinction between Aβ 1 - 4 0 and Aβ 1 - 4 2 .
Unacknowledged Intellect: Scott’s Changing Reputation and an Alternative Victorian Critical Mode

Despite a critical tendency, common until recently, to minimize Sir Walter Scott’s impact as an intellectual, two late-Victorian reviewers, Julia Wedgwood and John Stuart Stuart-Glennie, do present Scott as a theorist and a contributor to the intellectual movements of his period. In the arguments made by these two rather minor critics on Scott, readers can recognize a moment when both Scott’s critical fortunes as well as academic and popular critical practices could have taken a different path than they did. What both critics attempt is a balance of the two critical perspectives that were beginning to emerge. Rather than writing for either an audience of compliant lay people or of contentious experts, Wedgwood and Stuart-Glennie ask their readers to balance rational and sympathetic responses, to read with both reason and intuition. In imagining such an audience, these critics imply that literature plays a role in the development of citizens who can, likewise, combine these responses, as they have practiced them in literature, and apply them to the problems faced by responsible citizens. Normal 0 21 false false false NL-BE X-NONE X-NONE
Diagnostic accuracy of EEG changes during carotid endarterectomy in predicting perioperative strokes

The 30 day stroke rate following carotid endarterectomy (CEA) ranges between 2-6%. Such periprocedural strokes are associated with a three-fold increased risk of mortality. Our primary aim was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of electroencephalogram (EEG) in predicting perioperative strokes through meta-analysis of existing literature. An extensive search for relevant literature was undertaken using PubMed and Web of Science databases. Studies were included after screening using predetermined criteria. Data was extracted and analyzed. Summary sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio were obtained. Subgroup analysis of studies using eight or more EEG channels was done. Perioperative stroke rate for the cohort of 8765 patients was 1.75%. Pooled sensitivity and specificity of EEG changes in predicting these strokes were 52% (95% confidence interval [CI], 43-61%) and 84% (95% CI, 81-86%) respectively. Summary estimates of the subgroup were similar. The diagnostic odds ratio was 5.85 (95% CI, 3.71-9.22). For the observed stroke rate, the positive likelihood ratio was 3.25 while the negative predictive value was 98.99%. According to these results, patients with perioperative strokes have six times greater odds of experiencing an intraoperative change in EEG during CEA. EEG monitoring was found to be highly specific in predicting perioperative strokes after CEA.
Constructing VIL-MACsfrom FIL-MACs: Message Authentication under Weakened Assumptions

Practical MACs are typically designed by iterating applications of some fixed-input-length (FIL) primitive, namely one like a block cipher or compression function that only applies to data of a fixed length. Existing security analyses of these constructions either require a stronger security property from the FIL primitive (eg. pseudorandomness) than the unforgeability required of the final MAC, or, as in the case of HMAC, make assumptions about the iterated function itself. In this paper we consider the design of iterated MACs under the (minimal) assumption that the given FIL primitive is itself a MAC. We look at three popular transforms, namely CBC, Feistel and the Merkle-Damgard method, and ask for each whether it preserves unforgeability. We show that the answer is no in the first two cases and yes in the third. The last yields an alternative cryptographic hash function based MAC which is secure under weaker assumptions than existing ones, although at a slight increase in cost.