cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Right Orbitofrontal Cortex Mediates Conscious Olfactory Perception

Understanding how the human brain translates sensory impressions into conscious percepts is a key challenge of neuroscience research. Work in this area has overwhelmingly centered on the conscious experience of vision at the exclusion of the other senses—in particular, smell. We hypothesized that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a central substrate for olfactory conscious experience because of its privileged physiological role in odor processing. Combining functional magnetic resonance imaging, peripheral autonomic recordings, and olfactory psychophysics, we studied a case of complete anosmia (smell loss) in a patient with circumscribed traumatic brain injury to the right OFC. Despite a complete absence of conscious olfaction, the patient exhibited robust “blind smell,” as indexed by reliable odor-evoked neural activity in the left OFC and normal autonomic responses to odor hedonics during presentation of stimuli to the left nostril. These data highlight the right OFC’s critical role in subserving human olfactory consciousness.
The accuracy of vertical air velocities from Doppler radar data

Abstract Eight methods of calculating vertical air velocity in a column are compared. Each method requires some or all of the following data: horizontal divergence, vertical precipitation velocity, hydrometeor terminal fall speed, and vertical air velocity boundary conditions. Some or all of these quantities are commonly deduced or specified by a researcher during the analysis of Doppler radar data. The responses of the methods to different magnitudes and behaviors of errors in the input data are examined with a Monte Carlo method. The experiments are conducted with both random and systematic errors. Two idealized kinds of systematic errors are considered: bias error (a constant error through the column) and trend error (an error of constant magnitude that changes sign at the midpoint of the mass of the column). The performances of the methods are mapped over error space. A researcher, knowing approximately the characteristics of the errors of a particular set of Doppler radar data, can use the results of...
Measurements and modeling of intrinsic fluctuations in MOSFET threshold voltage

Fluctuations in intrinsic linear V/sub T/, free of impact of parasitics, are measured for large arrays of NMOS and PMOS devices on a testchip in a 150nm logic technology. Local intrinsic /spl rho/V/sub T/, free of extrinsic process, length and width variations, is random, and worsens with reverse body bias. Although the traditional area-dependent component is dominant, a significant component of the fluctuations in small devices depends only on device width or length.
Systematic assessment of social phobia in clinical practice

The purpose of this review is to propose a systematic approach to the assessment of social phobia for monitoring treatment outcome in clinical settings. A selection of measures is available, including questionnaires and structured interviews varying in length, complexity, and content. To design an assessment protocol for a particular patient or patient population, the clinician needs to be familiar with the characteristics of these available measures. The measures selected for detailed description and discussion here: (a) are specifically designed to assess social anxiety and social phobia, (b) have been demonstrated to have acceptable psychometric characteristics, and (c) have been utilized in treatment outcome research. Five questionnaire measures will be reviewed: (1) the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) (Turner et al., 1989a: Psychol Assessment 1:35-40), (2) the Social Interaction and Anxiety Scale (SIAS) (Mattick and Clarke, 1989 in Heimberg et al., 1992), (3) the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) (Mattick and Clarke, 1989 in Heimberg et al., 1992: Behav Therapy 23:53-73), (4) the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNES) (Watson and Friend, 1969: J Consult Clin Psychol 33:448-457), and (5) The Social Anxiety and Distress Scale (SADS) (Watson and Friend, 1969: J Consult Clin Psychol 33:448-457). Two interview measures will be reviewed, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) (Liebowitz, 1987: Modern Problems Pharmacopsych 22:141-173) and Brief Social Phobia Scale (BSPS) (Davidson et al., 1991: J Clin Psychiatry 52:48-51). Measures developed for specific subgroups, including patients with speech anxiety and musical performance anxiety, as well as the application of other evaluation methods, such as the Behavioral Assessment Test, will also be discussed. Guidelines for selecting appropriate social phobia measures for varying clinical and research situations will be proposed that take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of these methods.
Förster resonance energy transfer as a tool to study photoreceptor biology

Vision is initiated in photoreceptor cells of the retina by a set of biochemical events called phototransduction. These events occur via coordinated dynamic processes that include changes in secondary messenger concentrations, conformational changes and post-translational modifications of signaling proteins, and protein-protein interactions between signaling partners. A complete description of the orchestration of these dynamic processes is still unavailable. Described in this work is the first step in the development of tools combining fluorescent protein technology, Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET), and transgenic animals that have the potential to reveal important molecular insights about the dynamic processes occurring in photoreceptor cells. We characterize the fluorescent proteins SCFP3A and SYFP2 for use as a donor-acceptor pair in FRET assays, which will facilitate the visualization of dynamic processes in living cells. We also demonstrate the targeted expression of these fluorescent proteins to the rod photoreceptor cells of Xenopus laevis, and describe a general method for detecting FRET in these cells. The general approaches described here can address numerous types of questions related to phototransduction and photoreceptor biology by providing a platform to visualize dynamic processes in molecular detail within a native context.
On reoptimizing multi-class classifiers

Significant changes in the instance distribution or associated cost function of a learning problem require one to reoptimize a previously-learned classifier to work under new conditions. We study the problem of reoptimizing a multi-class classifier based on its ROC hypersurface and a matrix describing the costs of each type of prediction error. For a binary classifier, it is straightforward to find an optimal operating point based on its ROC curve and the relative cost of true positive to false positive error. However, the corresponding multi-class problem (finding an optimal operating point based on a ROC hypersurface and cost matrix) is more challenging and until now, it was unknown whether an efficient algorithm existed that found an optimal solution. We answer this question by first proving that the decision version of this problem is $\mathsf{NP}$ -complete. As a complementary positive result, we give an algorithm that finds an optimal solution in polynomial time if the number of classes n is a constant. We also present several heuristics for this problem, including linear, nonlinear, and quadratic programming formulations, genetic algorithms, and a customized algorithm. Empirical results suggest that under both uniform and non-uniform cost models, simple greedy methods outperform more sophisticated methods.
Influence of Instream and Landscape-Level Factors on the Distribution of Topeka Shiners Notropis topeka in Kansas Streams

Abstract The Topeka shiner Notropis topeka has declined in abundance throughout its historical range in the central U.S. As a result, this minnow was listed as federally endangered in 1999. The objective of our study was to quantitatively assess instream physical, chemical, and biological parameters and landscape-level factors influencing the distribution (i.e., extant or extirpated) of Topeka shiners. We sampled 26 streams in the Flint Hills region of Kansas: 12 sites where Topeka shiners are extant; and 14 sites where they are extirpated. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test whether variables were different between extant and extirpated sites. Mean catch per effort of largemouth bass in stream pools was higher at extirpated sites, and species diversity by trophic guild and richness in stream pools were higher at extirpated sites. Stepwise logistic regression was used to develop a model to predict whether Topeka shiners were extant or extirpated. Number of small impoundments per watershed a...
Molecular Survey of Zoonotic Agents in Rodents and Other Small Mammals in Croatia

Croatia is a focus for many rodent-borne zoonosis. Here, we report a survey of 242 rodents and small mammals, including 43 Myodes glareolus, 131 Apodemus flavicollis, 53 Apodemus agrarius, three Apodemus sylvaticus, six Sorex araneus, four Microtus arvalis, one Microtus agrestis, and one Muscardinus avellanarius, collected at eight sites in Croatia over an 8-year period. Multiplex MassTag polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for detection of Borrelia, Rickettsia, Bartonella, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Francisella tularensis, and Coxiella burnetii. Individual PCR assays were used for detection of Leptospira, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, orthopoxviruses, flaviviruses, hantaviruses, and Toxoplasma gondii. Of the rodents, 52 (21.5%) were infected with Leptospira, 9 (3.7%) with Borrelia miyamotoi, 5 (2%) with Borrelia afzelii, 29 (12.0%) with Bartonella, 8 (3.3%) with Babesia microti, 2 (0.8%) with Ehrlichia, 4 (1.7%) with Anaplasma, 2 (0.8%) with F. tularensis, 43 (17.8%) with hantaviruses, and 1 (0.4%) with an orthopoxvirus. Other agents were not detected. Multiple infections were found in 32 rodents (13.2%): dual infections in 26 rodents (10.7%), triple infections in four rodents (2.9%), and quadruple infections in two rodents (0.8%). Our findings indicate that rodents in Croatia harbor a wide range of bacteria and viruses that are pathogenic to humans.
Limits to dose reduction from iterative reconstruction and the effect of through-slice blurring

Iterative reconstruction methods have become very popular and show the potential to reduce dose. We present a limit to the maximum dose reduction possible with new reconstruction algorithms obtained by analyzing the information content of the raw data, assuming the reconstruction algorithm does not have a priori knowledge about the object or correlations between pixels. This limit applies to the task of estimating the density of a lesion embedded in a known background object, where the shape of the lesion is known but its density is not. Under these conditions, the density of the lesion can be estimated directly from the raw data in an optimal manner. This optimal estimate will meet or outperform the performance of any reconstruction method operating on the raw data, under the condition that the reconstruction method does not introduce a priori information. The raw data bound can be compared to the lesion density estimate from FBP in order to produce a limit on the dose reduction possible from new reconstruction algorithms. The possible dose reduction from iterative reconstruction varies with the object, but for a lesion embedded in the center of a water cylinder, it is less than 40%. Additionally, comparisons between iterative reconstruction and filtered backprojection are sometimes confounded by the effect of through-slice blurring in the iterative reconstruction. We analyzed the magnitude of the variance reduction brought about by through-slice blurring on scanners from two different vendors and found it to range between 11% and 48%.
Absorbed Residue Analysis of a Mississippi Plain Jar from Angel Mounds (12Vg1): Lipid Distribution Revisited

For the first time in North American archaeology, absorbed residue analysis was conducted on multiple samples from the same vessel, a complete Mississippi Plain jar from Angel Mounds (12Vg1). This approach provided comprehensive, residue-based interpretations of the form and function of a single pot. The Mississippi Plain jar was recovered from a burnt house floor along with the broken remains of a similar vessel and burnt maize. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of absorbed lipid residues were performed on four different parts of this vessel to determine its contents and function. Comparison of absorbed residues from the pot and soil lipids was used to determine whether the pot was buried with contents intact. The results indicate that this vessel was used to cook a mixture of riverine (lean fish or shellfish) and plant resources, probably including maize. Diterpenoid biomarkers were also present, suggesting that conifer resin was used either to seal the pot or as a flavoring. The jar, though deposited whole, was probably not buried with contents intact.
An Investigation of Stable Free Radicals in Polyimides Using EPR Spectroscopy

Polyimide resins are used as matrix materials in fiber reinforced composites. Such composites are lightweight, have relatively high strength, and can be used at temperatures above 300° C. Postcured PMR-15 produces room temperature electron paramagnetic resonance (epr) spectra from stable free radical species formed during the postcuring stages. The variable temperature EPR spectral intensities indicate the presence of at least two free radical species. The thermo-oxidative degradation involves free radicals generated during the postcuring process in the presence of oxygen gas. These and other recent results including ENDOR and HYSCORE work are discussed.
The philosopher and the engineer

There is no unique definition of nanotechnology because its breadth and complexity mean that people with different backgrounds and interests have their own view of the subject, explains Chris Toumey.
White Rot of Garlic and Onion (Causal Agent, Sclerotium cepivorum): A Status Report from the Pacific Northwest

Abstract There is evidence from literature, state department of agriculture documents, and recent diagnoses that Sclerotium cepivorum, causal agent of white rot of garlic and onion, is spreading an...
Preanalytic Delays as a Component of Test Turnaround Time

The time required to requisition, collect, and transport specimens to the laboratory was measured at two institutions using an observer stationed on patient wards and in the laboratory. For both routine and stat tests, preanalytic delays were significantly longer than within-laboratory delays at the two institutions. For routine tests, the interval between completion of the test requisition and collection of the specimen was the single largest contributor to preanalytic delays, accounting for 82% and 89% of the preanalytic interval. In addition, it was found that the time of specimen collection and laboratory accessioning recorded in the hospitals’ computer systems were not accurate. In one of the hospitals studied, stat specimens arrived in the laboratory an average of 32 minutes before the accessioning time recorded in the hospital computer system. These data suggest that a substantial proportion of turnaround time delays occur before specimens reach the laboratory and that efforts to speed up turnaround time might be more profitably directed at reducing preanalytic delay than improving within-laboratory speed. The data also suggest that times recorded in hospital information systems may not be reliable for monitoring turnaround time and should be validated with observational studies before being used to generate automated turnaround time reports.
An Improved Local Search Method for the MAX-SAT Problem

Local search methods are efficient for solving the large-scale SAT problem.Classic local search algorithms such as GSAT,WSAT,TSAT,NSAT build initial solutions randomly.In this paper,the initial probability obtained by the simplex algorithm is put forward,which can constrain the random initial assignment of variables in the construction phase of the local search method.The strategies are helpful in increasing the number of satisfied clauses at the beginning of local search and in making the local search convergence fast.Compared with the classic local search algorithms,the experimental results show that the proposed algorithm improves the efficiency of solving the SAT problem and performs well in many instances.
Regional analgesia combined with avoidance of narcotics may reduce the incidence of postoperative vomiting in children.

Background The anesthesia literature cites a high incidence of postoperative vomiting (POV) after pediatric ochidopexy and hernia repair (34-50%) and after penile procedures (37-49%). We hypothesized that regional analgesia combined with avoidance of narcotics administered to children scheduled for lower abdominal or urologic procedures may be associated with a lower incidence of POV. The aim of this prospective study was to 1) assess the incidence of POV in children in the hospital and during a 24-h post-anesthesia study period, and 2) evaluate the effect of age on POV. Methods After obtaining institutional and parental consent, 110 pediatric outpatients, 1-12 yr old, ASA physical status I or II, scheduled for elective outpatient urologic or lower abdominal procedures, were enrolled. Children were fasting and premedicated with midazolam, 0.5 mg/kg p.o. They received a combined light general anesthesia and a presurgical caudal block. Anesthesia was induced via a mask and consisted of halothane and nitrous oxide in oxygen. For the caudal block 1 ml/kg of 0.25% bupivacaine or 0.2% ropivacaine were used to provide intra- and postoperative pain relief. No prophylactic antiemetics were administered. Results All caudal blocks provided adequate intraoperative pain relief. The incidence of POV was low, 12% at the hospital, 13% for the 24-h study period, and was not affected by age. Conclusions We concluded that regional analgesia combined with the avoidance of narcotics administered to children scheduled for elective urologic or lower abdominal procedures, is associated with a lower incidence of POV and that age did not affect the incidence of POV.
Focal Resection in the Treatment of Neuronal Migrational Disorders

Publisher Summary This chapter describes focal resection in the treatment of neuronal migrational disorders (NMD). NMDs constitute an important group of congenital structural lesions that frequently cause intractable epilepsy. Focal cortical dysplasia is the most common form of NMDS and histopathologic findings range from the mildest form consisting just of an area of cortical dyslamination to more severe forms with giant, aberrant dysplastic neurons and balloon cells in the cortex. It is reported that focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) constituted 2 to 5% of all surgically treated epilepsies. Focal neuronal migrational disorders (FNMD) are very epileptogenic and often give rise to medically refractory epilepsy. In 50% to 70% of patients, FNMDs are seen in the extratemporal regions. Frontal, central, and insular regions are more frequently involved compared with other regions. A study which reviewed 10 cases with frontal and central lobe cortical dysplasia is presented. Four who underwent frontal resection had a significant reduction in seizure frequency, whereas 2 of 5 patients who underwent central resection had significant improvement. It is found that none of the patients with severe histopathological abnormalities benefited significantly from surgery.
Care for a Change? Tiered CBT for Youth

The third decade of the twenty-first century will likely ring in dramatic changes in the delivery of behavioral health care to young patients and their families. Clinical interventions will have to be effective, accountable, and cost efficient. Fortunately, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) spectrum approaches are well suited to these emerging imperatives. However, cognitive behaviorally oriented clinicians and administrators will need to implement well-established methods in new service provision channels. This article presents a tiered care model that incorporates common elements contained in modular CBT packages. The basics of tiered care and the Modular Approach to Therapy with Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma and Conduct Problems follow. Keys for uniting common CBT elements into tiered care are delineated. A simple, transparent stratified care system is presented. Three confabulated cases augment the description of the approach. The article concludes with recommendations for administering a stratified care system.
Levels and determinants of tree pollen in New York City

Exposure to allergenic tree pollen is a risk factor for multiple allergic disease outcomes. Little is known about how tree pollen levels vary within cities and whether such variation affects the development or exacerbation of allergic disease. Accordingly, we collected integrated pollen samples at uniform height at 45 sites across New York City during the 2013 pollen season. We used these monitoring results in combination with adjacent land use data to develop a land use regression model for tree pollen. We evaluated four types of land use variables for inclusion in the model: tree canopy, distributed building height (a measure of building volume density), elevation, and distance to water. When included alone in the model, percent tree canopy cover within a 0.5 km radial buffer explained 39% of the variance in tree pollen (1.9% increase in tree pollen per one-percentage point increase in tree canopy cover, P<0.0001). The inclusion of additional variables did not improve model fit. We conclude that intra-urban variation in tree canopy is an important driver of tree pollen exposure. Land use regression models can be used to incorporate spatial variation in tree pollen exposure in studies of allergic disease outcomes.
Persistently Underpaid CEOs and Their Influence on Pay Benchmarks

This paper analyzes whether frugal SP perform as well as former CEOs, but are paid 2/3rd as much.
miR-146a Contributes to Dementia-Like Pathology by Upregulation of Prion Protein in type-2 diabetes

Although the association of type-2 diabetes as a risk factor to develop dementia is reported; however, underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. Recently, the greater role of cellular prion...
Changes in gluteal muscle forces with alteration of footstrike pattern during running

Gait retraining is a common form of treatment for running related injuries. Proximal factors at the hip have been postulated as having a role in the development of running related injuries. How altering footstrike affects hip muscles forces and kinematics has not been described. Thus, we aimed to quantify differences in hip muscle forces and hip kinematics that may occur when healthy runners are instructed to alter their foot strike pattern from their habitual rear-foot strike to a forefoot strike. This may gain insight on the potential etiology and treatment methods of running related lower extremity injury. Twenty-five healthy female runners completed a minimum of 10 running trials in a controlled laboratory setting under rear-foot strike and instructed forefoot strike conditions. Kinetic and kinematic data were used in an inverse dynamic based static optimization to estimate individual muscle forces during running. Within subject differences were investigated using a repeated measures multi-variate analysis of variance. Peak gluteus medius and minimus and hamstring forces were reduced while peak gluteus maximus force was increased when running with an instructed forefoot strike pattern. Peak hip adduction, hip internal rotation, and heel-COM distance were also reduced. Therefore, instructing habitual rearfoot strike runners to run with a forefoot strike pattern resulted in changes in peak gluteal and hamstring muscle forces and hip kinematics. These changes may be beneficial to the development and treatment of running related lower extremity injury.
Making the grade: The future and its discontents

We know nothing about motivation. All we can do is write books about it. peter drucker Certainly much has been written about motivation. To this extent Drucker's observation is correct. The Reader's Guide Index lists scores of books on motivation written in the last decade alone, and these do not include the hundreds of research articles and technical reports churned out each year. What is less clear, however – and this is Drucker's concern – is the nature of our understanding. Actually, we do know a good deal about motivation, but on closer inspection our knowledge is quite uneven. We know how to arouse people to greater effort, especially for short periods of time: how, for example, to arrange incentives for factory workers so that production improves and absenteeism falls; and even how to rearrange the social organization of schools so that students are more willing to pursue learning for its own sake. But knowing how to motivate is not the same as knowing what is motivation. Here Drucker makes his point. Whatever is being aroused by the clever use of rewards and incentives, namely, motivation itself, remains mysterious and elusive. Motivation, like the concept of gravity, is easier to describe (in terms of its outward, observable effects) than it is to define. Of course, this has not stopped researchers from trying. The history of various attempts to grasp the essence of motivation is the first main theme of this book.
Two-component calls in short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus)

Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) have complex vocal repertoires that include calls with two time-frequency contours known as two-component calls. We attached digital acoustic recording tags (DTAGs) to 23 short-finned pilot whales off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and assessed the similarity of two-component calls within and among tags. Two-component calls made up <3% of the total number of calls on 19 of the 23 tag records. For the remaining four tags, two-component calls comprised 9%, 23%, 24%, and 57% of the total calls recorded. Measurements of six acoustic parameters for both the low and high frequency components of all two-component calls from the five tags were compared using a generalized linear model. There were significant differences in the acoustic parameters of two-component calls between tags, verifying that acoustic parameters were more similar for two-component calls recorded on the same tag than for calls between tags. Spectrograms of all two-component calls from the five tags were visually graded and independently categorized by five observers. A test of inter-rater reliability showed substantial agreement, suggesting that each tag contained a predominant two-component call type that was not shared across tags.
MIDAS - A MICROPROGRAMMABLE INTEGRATED DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

The construction and operation of a fully automated microprogrammable data acquisition and control system (MIDAS IIA) with application to the sampling and mean averaging of meteorological data is reported. MIDAS IIA is designed to automatically collect periodic samples of various meteorological data in digital and analog forms, compute mean averages over selectable time intervals, and produce a permanent output record of the time averaged data. The system consists of a microprocessor based on the Intel Corporation's 8008 CPU, a 16-channel multiplexed analog-to-digital converter, a digital clock, and incremental digital cassette tape recorder, numerous meteorological data sensors, and a teletype for input/output. Details of system operation and programming are described.
Who Should Do The Talking? Communication Locus For An International Product Crisis

In this paper, a framework is proposed for deciding the locus of communications for managing an international product crisis. Based on the model for the standardization of advertising in a multinational corporation advanced by Laroche, Kirpalani, Pons, and Zhou (2001), how a company should select location(s) for the dissemination of information about the crisis is suggested. While the default location should be the company’s headquarters, consideration of the impact of Market, Subsidiary Power, and Manager Expertise might necessitate the movement of the communication locus to a foreign subsidiary. Effective identification of the optimal locus may help companies recover more rapidly from a product crisis.
A Built-In Self-Test and In Situ Analog Circuit Optimization Platform

In this paper, a built-in self-test and in situ analog circuit optimization platform is proposed and characterized. By integrating a fully digital optimization engine and self-test circuits along with circuits-under-optimization (CUO), this platform can automatically find an operating point that makes a good balance among multiple competing characteristic goals. Therefore, the arbitrary linear time-invariant CUO can be optimized even when there are large process-voltage-temperature variations and aging effects of devices. This platform is analyzed to determine the required accuracy of its building blocks in terms of noise and linearity. The feasibility of this platform is proved by a case study utilizing a Tow-Thomas bandpass biquad.
Dispositional mindfulness and prescription opioid misuse among chronic pain patients: Craving and attention to positive information as mediating mechanisms.

Abstract Objectives Opioid-treated chronic pain patients may be at risk for prescription opioid misuse due to heightened opioid craving coupled with deficits in attention to naturally rewarding, positive stimuli. Conversely, dispositional mindfulness, which is associated with reduced craving and increased responsiveness to natural rewards, may serve as a protective factor and buffer opioid misuse risk. The current investigation aimed to examine the association between mindfulness and opioid misuse, and to test opioid craving and attention to positive information as mediators of this relationship. Methods This cross-sectional analysis examined data obtained from a sample of civilian opioid-treated chronic pain patients in the Southeastern U.S. (Sample 1: N = 115), as well as civilian (Sample 2: N = 141) and military samples in the Intermountain West (Sample 3: N = 44). Pearson correlations and path analyses were employed to test relations among participant self-reports on the Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM), the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), two measures of opioid craving, and the Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale (APNIS). Results Across all three samples, dispositional mindfulness was significantly inversely associated with opioid misuse (N = 300, r = −0.36, p Discussion Dispositional mindfulness may buffer opioid misuse risk by attenuating opioid craving and enhancing attention to naturally rewarding stimuli.
Moth and Ant Inspired Routing in Hierarchical Airborne Networks with Multi-Beam Antennas

A set of novel routing protocols is proposed for directional hierarchical airborne networks. These networks use a two-level architecture, where the higher-level network is sparse with directional long-distance links that support the high data-rate communication. The lower-level network consists of high-density nodes with short-distance and low data-rate links. We assume that the higher-level nodes are equipped with multi-beam antennas, whereas the lower-level nodes have omni-directional antennas. We use the bio-inspired algorithms (based on moth and ant behaviors) to design the routing schemes for both levels. Specifically, we use the male moth’s light source pursuing pattern for routing the data from an event node to the highly mobile sink in lower-level network, and the ant’s chemical trail maintenance principle to trace the trajectory of commander node to deliver the data from lower-level node to the commander node in the higher-level network, with minimum delay. In addition, we construct a weighted fence routing topology among higher-level nodes with multi-beam antennas, in order to achieve high throughput. Our simulation results demonstrate that significant performance improvement is achieved by the bio-inspired routing schemes, compared with conventional ad hoc routing schemes.
Changing Times: Altering Establishment Spacing, Harvesting Frequency, and Harvesting Machines to Promote Increased Sawtimber Volumes

Today’s landowners are faced with important decisions when establishing loblolly pine plantations in the Southeastern part of the United States with regards to planting dimensions and forest management techniques. Although recent studies are beginning to demonstrate the need for change from the old practices, suppressed biomass markets and prices are hindering the transition. This paper provided readers with an informational overview of the benefits of: incorporating an additional thinning regime for biomass, using alternate spacing methods such as FlexstandsTM and rectangularity, and using small-scale harvesting machines for conducting initial thinning’s. The overview was supported with both a field study as well as a modeling tool which verified using one or all of the above-mentioned techniques to increase total harvest volumes while minimizing residual stand damage. The modeling tool determined that final sawtimber volumes were increased by a minimum of 15 tons per acre using one or more of the above techniques. When expanding this volume out to 20 acres, the minimum tract size harvested in the southeast using convention equipment, landowners could easily recover any losses incurred from the suppressed biomass markets minimizing overall risk and promoting the use of these alternative techniques.
Understanding Endovascular Aortic Surgery: Endovascular Repair of Aortic Aneurysmal Disease

In 1991, when Parodi first published his experience with placement of a balloon-expandable endograft for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients deemed unsuitable for open surgery, 1 interest grew in the field of endovascular approaches to the treatment of aortic aneurysms. Since that initial report, tremendous advancements have made this methodology commonplace, and more importantly, widely accepted as a viable alternative to the traditional open repair. Furthermore, refinements in the newer devices have expanded the inclusion criteria for patients previously thought to be unsuitable for endovascular repair, greatly increasing its versatility and applicability.
Major Components of an Engineering Framework

A coarse view of the major components of an engineering Framework today is shown in Figure 2.1. A well-designed Framework provides many layers of abstraction and, in the most successful examples, all of these layers are provided to the tool developers and CAD systems integrators for their use. That is, the systems integrator can choose to use high-level facilities provided by the Framework, lower-level facilities, or even system calls provided by the operating system itself, if necessary. This is analogous to a systems programmer using a high-level language for some parts of a program but assembly code for certain critical parts. Of course, a good systems programmer only uses assembly language when there is no other way of meeting the design goals of the system.
Strange Fruit at the United Nations

The UN was founded, in 1945, to rid the world of the scourge of war but also to recognize and to vindicate the rights of every human in virtue of their humanity. At the time of the organization’s founding, “Jim Crow” -- a scheme designed to repress African Americans -- reigned throughout the American South. Jim Crow was especially characterized by the act of lynching, the extrajudicial killing, often, of African American males. Frequently the lynching was committed by hanging its subject from a tree. Some came to know the persons hanged from the tree as “strange fruit.” During the UN’s early years, the civil rights organizations the National Negro Congress, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Civil Rights Congress sought UN assistance in vindicating African Americans’ fundamental rights. But even during some of the worst days of Jim Crow, the UN was largely silent on matters expressly related to African Americans. In 1946, four African Americans were shot execution-style by Caucasian men after one of the African Americans alleged rape against one of the soon-to-be executioners. This event received substantial international attention. In 1955, Emmett Till. This 14-year-old boy was shot, mutilated and drowned, after reportedly whistling at a Caucasian woman. This case, too, was broadcast internationally. The world was well-aware of events in the United States regarding its largest racial minority. This article explores and evaluates the opportunities taken -- and not -- by each relevant UN organ to address Jim Crow practices, during the period 1945 to 1965. Part I, “the United Nations,” discusses the UN’s founding. It also explores the reasons for creating this body and how the Charter reflects the interests of powerful stakeholders. Additionally, it discusses the functions, powers and limitations of each of its principal organs. Part II, “the United States,” discusses African American history and the laws designed to circumscribe African American life. Part III, “Strange Fruit at the United Nations,” considers the efforts within some UN entities to combat racial segregation and discrimination. It also considers the avenues that the UN might have taken to specifically address Jim Crow. This section especially focuses on the opportunities posed by the International Court of Justice.
Encoded Body, Encrypted Dance: Performance Contra Censorship

This chapter continues the theme of censorship. I discuss how in Heine’s enigmatic story Florentinische Nachte (Florentine Nights) an inscrutable dance becomes a coded performance contra censorship and presents an almost textbook case of how a story resists official censorship through a simultaneous veiling of meaning and a fictional revelation of history, place, and the multiple positions of the narrator and the reader. The subchapter “Heine’s Laurence, Lady Mathilde, and Mephistophela: Voices of ecriture feminine?” is a speculative discussion about how some of Heine’s women characters mimic a voice that is associated with French feminist poststructuralism’s concept of ecriture feminine. While I do not read Heine as a champion of feminism, I argue that his women characters like Laurence, Mephistophela in Doctor Faust. A Dance Poem, and Lady Mathilde in The City of Lucca challenge the rigidly prescribed rules of the social order and respond to their exclusion from the symbolic systems by a dangerous mobility.
ESCAPING SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH: MANAGING WIDE COMPLEX TACHYCARDIA IN TETRALOGY OF FALLOT

Adults with Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) experience increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Known risk factors include QRS duration >180 ms, extensive right ventricular (RV) scarring, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) and left ventricular (LV) systolic or diastolic dysfunction. High
Improvement in 6-min Walk Test Distance Following Treatment for Behavioral Weight Loss and Disinhibited Eating: an Exploratory Secondary Analysis.

Poor functional exercise capacity is common among those with obesity; however, objective measures of exercise capacity are rarely examined in behavioral treatments targeting obese individuals. We examined whether a 4-week acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention for disinhibited eating or a behavioral weight loss (BWL) intervention improved exercise capacity and explored demographic and disinhibited eating variables related to exercise capacity. Veterans (n = 61), randomized to receive ACT or BWL, completed an assessment of exercise capacity via the 6-min walk test (6MWT) at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Measures of disinhibited eating patterns and body mass index (BMI), at baseline and post-treatment, were also collected. Change in 6MWT distance and treatment group differences were examined using mixed ANOVAs. Characteristics related to baseline 6MWT and predictors of improvement in 6MWT at 6 months were examined with hierarchical multiple regression. There were overall significant improvements on the 6MWT from baseline to 6-month follow-up (F(1,59) = 11.14, p = .001, ηp2 = .159) but no differences between the ACT and BWL groups. Baseline BMI (β = − .33, p = .005) was the only variable related to baseline 6MWT. Improvements on the 6MWT were related to younger age (β = − .41, p = 0.001), female gender (β = .36, p = .001), and treatment-related increases in dietary restraint behaviors (β = .42, p = .001). Functional exercise capacity improved among participants completing behavioral interventions for weight and disinhibited eating. Improvements in dietary behavior regulatory skills may have generalized to improved regulation in other behavioral domains associated with exercise capacity.
Recent Progress in Zeroth Order Optimization and Its Applications to Adversarial Robustness in Data Mining and Machine Learning

Zeroth-order (ZO) optimization is increasingly embraced for solving big data and machine learning problems when explicit expressions of the gradients are difficult or infeasible to obtain. It achieves gradient-free optimization by approximating the full gradient via efficient gradient estimators. Some recent important applications include: a) generation of prediction-evasive, black-box adversarial attacks on deep neural networks, b) online network management with limited computation capacity, c) parameter inference of black-box/complex systems, and d) bandit optimization in which a player receives partial feedback in terms of loss function values revealed by her adversary. This tutorial aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to recent advances in ZO optimization methods in both theory and applications. On the theory side, we will cover convergence rate and iteration complexity analysis of ZO algorithms and make comparisons to their first-order counterparts. On the application side, we will highlight one appealing application of ZO optimization to studying the robustness of deep neural networks - practical and efficient adversarial attacks that generate adversarial examples from a black-box machine learning model. We will also summarize potential research directions regarding ZO optimization, big data challenges and some open-ended data mining and machine learning problems.
Estrogen Selectively Enhances TMJ Disc but Not Knee Meniscus Matrix Loss

The preponderance of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) degenerative disorders in women and their early onset during reproductive years have implicated female sex hormones, particularly 17-β estradiol (E2), in the pathogenesis of these disorders. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which E2 contributes to TMJ degenerative disorders and the reasons for its targeted effects on the TMJ but not other joints remain poorly understood. Here, we developed an ovariectomized mouse model in which systemic E2 concentrations mimicked those in cycling women, and we determined the effect of E2 on the targeted turnover of TMJ fibrocartilage matrix via E2-induced matrix metalloproteinases MMP9 and MMP13. Infusion of E2 and progesterone (P4; hormone control) over 7 d resulted in 5- and 8-fold greater serum E2 and P4 levels relative to controls, respectively, achieving systemic hormone levels similar to high baseline levels in cycling women. Administration of E2 but not P4 caused a significant loss of TMJ collagen and glycosaminoglycans, which was accompanied by amplification of ERα and specific increases in MMP9 and MMP13 expression. This dose of E2 had no effect on knee meniscus fibrocartilage, demonstrating the specificity of the degradative effect of E2. Dose-response experiments showed a greater sensitivity and a higher peak induction of MMP9 and MMP13 in TMJ fibrocartilaginous cells than knee meniscus cells to E2, providing an explanation for the differential responses of these tissues to E2. Using MMP9- and MMP13-null mice, we observed no discernible effects of each proteinase individually to E2-mediated TMJ matrix loss but noted a significant compensatory reciprocal induction of each MMP by E2 in the absence of the other. The redundancy in E2's induction of MMP9 and MMP13 suggests that the proteinases may together contribute to E2-mediated TMJ fibrocartilage loss. These results advance our understanding of E2-mediated upregulation of MMP9 and MMP13 on fibrocartilage matrix turnover targeted to the TMJ.
Beyond the tolerance/intolerance dichotomy: incorporating attitudes and acceptability into a robust definition of social tolerance of wildlife

While most wildlife researchers and managers agree that human tolerance is critical in determining the success and persistence of wildlife populations, the concept of tolerance has lacked definitio...
Screening for More than 1,000 Pesticides and Environmental Contaminants in Cannabis by GC/Q-TOF

A method has been developed to screen cannabis extracts for more than 1,000 pesticides and environmental pollutants using a gas chromatograph coupled to a high-resolution accurate mass quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC/Q-TOF). An extraction procedure was developed using acetonitrile with solid phase extraction cleanup. Before analysis, extracts were diluted 125:1 with solvent. Two data mining approaches were used together with a retention-time-locked Personal Compound Database and Library (PCDL) containing high-resolution accurate mass spectra for pesticides and other environmental pollutants. (1) A Find-by-Fragments (FbF) software tool extracts several characteristic exact mass ions within a small retention time window where the compound elutes. For each compound in the PCDL, the software evaluates the peak shape and retention time of each ion as well as the monoisotopic exact mass, ion ratios, and other factors to decide if the compound is present or not. (2) A separate approach used Unknowns Analysis (UA) software with a peak-finding algorithm called SureMass to deconvolute peaks in the chromatogram. The accurate mass spectra were searched against the PCDL using spectral matching and retention time as filters. A subset PCDL was generated containing only pesticides that are most likely to be found on foods in the US. With about 250 compounds in the smaller PCDL, there were fewer hits for non-pesticides, and data review was much faster. Organically grown cannabis was used for method development. Twenty-one confiscated cannabis samples were analyzed and ten were found to have no detectable pesticides. The remaining 11 samples had at least one pesticide and one sample had seven detectable residues. Quantitative analysis was run on the confiscated samples for a subset of the pesticides found by screening. Two cannabis samples had residues of carbaryl and malathion that were estimated to be about 10 times greater than the highest US Environmental Protection Agency tolerance set for food and about 4,000 times greater than the Canadian maximum residue limits for dried cannabis flower.
Comparison of weight loss with a National Cancer Institute diet and a plant-based olive oil diet in overweight women with invasive breast cancer

1532 Background: The risk of breast cancer increases with increasing body weight, higher blood levels of fasting insulin and triglycerides, and lower HDL-c. Weightloss and diet can affect these var...
A perspective on hydrothermal processing of sewage sludge

The US annually produces 79 million dry tons of liquid organic waste including sewage sludge. Anaerobic digestion can only reduce the sludge volume by 50% in mass, leaving the other half as a growing waste management and hygienic problem. Hydrothermal processing (HTP), a set of several chemical digestion processes, could be used to convert sewage sludge into valuable products and minimize potential environmental pollution risks. Specifically, hydrothermal carbonization and hydrothermal liquefaction have been extensively studied to sustainably manage sludge. Two of the main reasons for this are the high upscalability of HTP for public waste management and that it is estimated that HTP can recover eleven times more energy from waste products than landfilling. An integration of HTP with anaerobic digestion or recycling the soluble organics (in the HTP aqueous products) into the HTP process could lead to a higher overall rate of energy recovery for municipal sewage sludge.