cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vector quantizer design using genetic algorithms

The design of vector quantizers (VQs) that yield minimal distortion is one of the most challenging problems in source coding. The problem of VQ design is to find a codebook that gives the least overall distortion (or equivalently, the largest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)) for a given set of input vectors. This problem is known to be difficult as there are no known closed-form solutions. The generalized Lloyd algorithm (GLA) uses a finite set of training sequences as the data source and employs an iterative refinement. Given an initial codebook, the algorithm computes the nearest focally optimum codebook only. Genetic algorithms (GAs) are emerging as widely accepted optimization and search methods. These search methods are rooted in the mechanisms of evolution and natural genetics. They have a high probability of locating the globally optimal solution in a multimodal search space. A genetic algorithmic (GA) approach to vector quantizer design that combines the GLA is presented. We refer to this hybrid as the genetic generalized Lloyd algorithm (GGLA). It works briefly as follows. Initially, a finite number of codebooks, called chromosomes, are selected. In contrast to the GLA which refines only one codebook at a time, those codebooks undergo iterative cycles of reproduction in parallel. During an iteration, each codebook is updated by GLA or GA operations (i.e., mutation, crossover, and chromosome replacement). Three versions of the GGLAs are investigated depending on how the GLA or GA is selected.
Progress in Interventional Cardiology

This issue of News & Views will focus on events reported prior to and during the 46th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology, March 16-19, 1997, in Anaheim, CA, USA. Topics to be discussed include the results of recently completed clinical trials involving plasminogen activators used in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (MI), glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa inhibitors used in the treatment of unstable angina pectoris and non-Q wave MI, an update on the treatment of MI complicated by cardiogenic shock, and optimal diagnostic strategies for patients who have sustained a non-Q wave MI.
Movements of the cranial vibrissae in the Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)

Vibrissae are highly refined vibrotactile receptors that are present on most mammals. The Golden hamster exhibits three different behaviours of its mystacial, supraorbital, and genal vibrissae. During rest, all the vibrissae are reclined and motionless. When hamsters are alert, the vibrissae are partly or fully erect and essentially motionless. During active investigation, the mystacial vibrissae “whisk” or “sweep” through antero–posterior excursions. The genal vibrissa moves only slightly in periodic erection. The supraorbital vibrissae carry through a wide erection arc and have limited excursions with movements of the upper eyelid. The mystacial vibrissae whisk quickly (about 16 sweepsls). Whisking is divisible into contact (relatively high amplitude, low frequency), non–contact (relatively low amplitude, high frequency), and double–pump (combination contact and non–contact) types, and can be either bilaterally symmetric or asymmetric. The dimensions of the mystacial territory around the snout change throughout whisking due to coordinated changes in the shape of the mystacial pad and the tilting of the vibrissae relative to the pad. Such differential movements have implications for sensory physiology as they point to an ability for fine sensory monitoring of the environment.
cAMP increases surface expression of NKCC2 in rat thick ascending limbs: role of VAMP.

NaCl absorption by the thick ascending limb of Henle’s loop (TAL) is mediated by the apical Na-K-2Cl cotransporter NKCC2. cAMP increases NaCl absorption in the TAL by stimulating NKCC2. In oocytes,...
Comparative evolution of flower and fruit morphology

Angiosperm diversification has resulted in a vast array of plant morphologies. Only recently has it been appreciated that diversification might have proceeded quite differently for the two key diagnostic structures of this clade, flowers and fruits. These structures are hypothesized to have experienced different selective pressures via their interactions with animals in dispersal mutualisms, resulting in a greater amount of morphological diversification in animal-pollinated flowers than in animal-dispersed fruits. I tested this idea using size and colour traits for the flowers and fruits of 472 species occurring in three floras (St John, Hawaii and the Great Plains). Phylogenetically controlled analyses of nearest-neighbour distances in multidimensional trait space matched the predicted pattern: in each of the three floras, flowers were more divergent from one another than were fruits. In addition, the spacing of species clusters differed for flowers versus fruits in the flora of St John, with clusters in flower space more divergent than those in fruit space. The results are consistent with the idea that a major driver of angiosperm diversification has been stronger selection for divergent floral morphology than for divergent fruit morphology, although genetic, physiological and ecological constraints may also play a role.
Covered in Ink: Tattoos, Women, and the Politics of the Body

Beverly Yuen Thompson’s ethnographic study, Covered in Ink: Tattoos, Women, and the Politics of the Body, is a welcome contribution to the surprisingly sparse feminist literature on women with tatt...
Thermal instability of field emission from carbon nanotubes studied using multi-physics simulation by considering space charge effect

Thermal instability is an important concern for practical use of high-current field emitters in display, X-ray generation, Hall thruster, and microplasma generation. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their bundles have high thermal conductivity and offers great promise in this aspect. A wide-range of experiments has recently been performed with CNT-based emitters containing single or a bundle of nanotubes. Analysis of these experiments is executed using the classical Fowler-Nordheim (FN) equation and the heat equation with no self-consistency. The space-charge effect – one of the most important aspect of high-current field emission – is often ignored in these theoretical analyses. In this work, we use a numerical framework to study thermal instability in the CNT-based emitters by solving electrostatics, space-charge effect, quantum-mechanical tunneling (with FN equation as the limiting case), thermionic emission and heat flow in a self-consistent manner. Simulation compares well with the experimental results and allows study of temperature rise – the root cause of thermal instability – for the emitter in a wide range of conditions. Our analysis suggests that higher thermal conductivity and/or electrical conductivity and their reduced temperature dependence are beneficial for the field emitters, as these improve the thermal stability of the emitter by reducing temperature rise.
Deformed protein binding sites and cofactor binding sites are required for the function of a small segment-specific regulatory element in Drosophila embryos.

Abstract How each of the homeotic selector proteins can regulate distinct sets of DNA target elements in embryos is not understood. Here we describe a detailed functional dissection of a small element that is specifically regulated by the Deformed homeotic protein. This 120 bp element (module E) is part of a larger 2.7 kb autoregulatory enhancer that maintains Deformed (Dfd) transcription in the epidermis of the maxillary and mandibular segments of Drosophila embryos. In vitro binding assays show that module E contains only one Dfd protein binding site. Mutations in the Dfd binding site that increase or decrease its in vitro affinity for Dfd protein generate parallel changes in the regulatory activity of module E in transgenic embryos, strong evidence that the in vitro-defined binding site is a direct target of Dfd protein in embryos. However, a monomer or multimer of the Dfd binding region alone is not sufficient to supply Dfd-dependent, segment-specific reporter gene expression. An analysis of a systematic series of clustered point mutations in module E revealed that an additional region containing an imperfect inverted repeat sequence is also required for the function of this homeotic protein response element. The Dfd binding site and the putative cofactor binding site(s) in the region of the inverted repeat are both necessary and in combination sufficient for the function of module E.
GLYCOPROTEIN ANTIGENS ISOLATED FROM RBC

Abstract Erythrocytes contain a glycoprotein whose monomeric molecular weight is 31,000. This glycoprotein is highly assymetric with respect to the distribution of carbohydrate along the peptide chain and with respect to the distribution of serine, threonine and the amino acids with lipophilic side chains. At least two quite different types of oligosaccharide units are attached to the peptide chain by two different kinds of linkage. On the basis of the compositional studies a model is presented for the structure of the glycoprotein and its association with the erythrocyte membrane.
Symmetry Breaking in Annular Domains for a Ginzburg-Landau Superconductivity Model

A minimization problem for the Ginzburg-Landau functional is considered on an annulus with thickness R in the class of functions \( \mathcal{F}^d\) where only the degree (the winding number), d, on the boundary is prescribed. The existence of a critical thickness R c which depends on the Ginzburg-Landau parameter δ and d is established. It is shown that if R>Rc then any function in separated form in polar coordinates can not be a global minimizer in the class \( \mathcal{F}^d\) and therefore the functions in a minimizing sequence can not be of this form. Hence for a sufficiently thick annulus, the variational Ginzburg-Landau problem is not a regular perturbation, in δ, of the corresponding problem for harmonic maps. The proof is based on an explicit construction of a sequence of admissible functions with vortices approaching the boundary. The key point of the proof is that the Ginzburg-Landau energy of the functions in this sequence approaches a constant independent of R and δ. By contrast, in the class of functions with separated form in polar coordinates and the same boundary conditions, there exists a unique minimizer whose energy depends on R. This minimizer is rotationally invariant and converges uniformly to the solution of the corresponding harmonic map problem as δ→0.
MOVEMENT PATTERNS OF RIPARIAN SMALL MAMMALS DURING PREDICTABLE FLOODPLAIN INUNDATION

Abstract We monitored movements of small mammals resident on floodplains susceptible to spring floods to assess whether and how these animals respond to habitat inundation. The 2 floodplains were associated with 6th order river segments in a semiarid landscape; each was predictably inundated each year as snowmelt progressed in headwater areas of the Rocky Mountains. Data from live trapping, radiotelemetry, and microtopographic surveys indicated that Peromyscus maniculatus, Microtus montanus, and Dipodomys ordii showed different responses to inundation, but all reflected a common tendency to remain in the original home range until “forced” to leave. The reluctance of Dipodomys ordii to abandon the home burrow often resulted in death in situ, whereas individual P. maniculatus and M. montanus moved to nearby higher ground but not necessarily toward upland. This behavior could lead to occupancy of an island that disappeared as floodwaters rose. Peromyscus maniculatus climbed into sapling cottonwood, but the q...
PIVOT and the challenges of localized prostate cancer care.

Putting it mildly, prostate cancer screening and treatment has been a contentious issue over the past year. With the recent US Preventative Services Task Force grade D recommendation to abandon routine PSA screening, pressing questions regarding the utility of populationwide PSA screening and the harms of overdiagnosis and overtreatment have continued to make national headlines. Determining whether PSA screening and subsequent treatment provides a survival benefit, in particular for men with low risk disease, has become of paramount concern to patients and urologists.
Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia. Report of a pedigree.

Six generations of one family with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia were evaluated with identification of twenty-four affected individuals. The genetic mechanism was established to be an autosomal dominant with complete penetration. Paresthesias, transitory paraplegia of the legs, unusual hypothenar dermatoglyphic patterns, osteochondritis dissecans, and Blount-Barber disease were noted in association in one or more family members. The roentgenographic sign of the slanted ankle joint appeared to be a new sign not previously described. Unusually good roentgenograms in follow-up showed a normal appearing neonate with gradual progression to the full blown syndrome as the skeletal structures matured.
In vivo heat inactivation of serum can distinguish false positive cross matches in renal transplants

IntroductionRenal transplants have traditionally been performed despite positive cross match if results are presumptively due to IgM antibodies. False positives have been distinguishable from true ...
The Mark of Key Words in Social Academic Articles

The mark of key words in academic articles is the need of using modernized information technology to manage and use document while in practice,it is very popular that the mark of key words is often missed.This heavily influences the effectively indexing and promulgating.Knowing the criterion and selection principle of marking key words and marking key words properly is the work that the authors and editors should do well.
Effects of lidocaine with epinephrine on fear related arousal among dental phobics.

Abstract The effects of 2% lidocaine containing 72 μg epinephrine on fear related arousal were tested using a cross-over design on dental patients fearful of injections and other dental procedures. Heart rate and body movement in the dental operatory were monitored, and subjects' self-reported upset in the Epinephrine condition than in the No-Epinephrine condition (F = 4.8, p = .04), but the clinical significance was negligible. No interaction between initial fear levels and the drug condition could be established. Results suggest that pre-existing dental fear levels may produce greater self-report, behavioral or physiological arousal in the dental operatory than exogenous epinephrine.
Systematics of Sphingomonas Species that Degrade Xenobiotic Pollutants

Until recently, microbiologists were unable to establish a satisfactory prokaryotic phylogeny, a problem that some suggested was insolvable (Stanier & van Niel, 1962). Traditional methods for determining eukaryotic phylogenies according to cell morphology and physiological characteristics are not readily applicable to the classification of prokaryotes. Further, microbiologists have only been able to study those microorganisms that they could cultivate, and this strongly biased the perception of microbial diversity. Another obstacle that hampered the study of prokaryotic phylogeny is what Olsen et al. (1994) described as the “negative definition” of a prokaryote. Prokaryotes were defined as “lacking eukaryotic features,” and such ideas as “if it is not a eukaryote, it is a prokaryote,” dominated the field. With these underlying assumptions, microbiologists ignored the importance of phylogenetic relationships essential in understanding the nature of any organism, and reduced the study of prokaryotic diversity to the question, “How does E. coli differ from eukaryotes?” The characterization of rRNA nucleotide sequences in the early 1980s changed the paradigm.
Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of an Arabic language version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire in Lebanon

Background : Patients’ positive illness perceptions (IPs) significantly contribute to treatment success. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ) is widely used in various diseases for assessing IPs. It was developed in English-speaking countries and studies on it in Arab countries are scarce. Objectives, Setting and design : This observational cross-sectional study aimed to cross-culturally adapt the Brief IPQ English version into a modern Arabic language version and determine its psychometric properties in a sample of Lebanese cardiac disease patients. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Lebanon. Participants : A convenience sample of 30 patients with cardiac disease were recruited during routine visits to cardiologists’ offices in Beirut, Lebanon. Inclusion criteria were at least one cardiac disease for at least 6 months with no acute episode or exacerbation of the disease during the 6 preceding months, age≥18 years, and the ability to read and comprehend Arabic. The pre-final version of the Brief IPQ Arabic version was tested for face and content validity. The meaning, comprehensibility, and acceptability were studied by individual interviews. For discriminant validity and internal consistency of the Brief IPQ Arabic version (Brief IPQ-Ar), 100 patients were recruited in a similar manner using the same inclusion criteria. To assess reproducibility, 30 patients, selected randomly from the 100 patients, filled the questionnaire a second time, 3–4 weeks after its first administration and under the same conditions. Main outcome measures : Psychometric properties of the Brief IPQ-Ar among Lebanese patients suffering from cardiac diseases. Results : Semantic equivalence between the Brief IPQ-Ar questions and patients’ descriptions was 100%. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.717, which shows good internal consistency. Reproducibility was satisfactory (ICC values>0.776). Moreover, the Brief IPQ-Ar discriminated participants according to the type of cardiac disease and treatment-related characteristics. Conclusions : We confirm that the Brief IPQ-Ar is appropriate for exploring IPs in cardiac disease patients whose first language is Arabic. Further research should be conducted to test this Arabic version in other types of diseases. Keywords: adaptation; Arabic; Brief IPQ; cardiology; cross-cultural; psychometric (Published: 8 June 2016) Citation: Libyan J Med 2016, 11 : 31976 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ljm.v11.31976
Pentosan polysulfate decreases proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition by vascular smooth muscle cells isolated from failed hemodialysis access grafts.

Background: Vascular access failure is a major cause of morbidity, and increased costs in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. Stenosis, the most common underlying cause of loss of patency in failed grafts, appears to be caused by an obstructing mass of tissue containing proliferating smooth muscle cells and their associated extracellular matrix. Methods: To determine whether this process was amenable to pharmacologic intervention and/or prevention, we obtained samples of the material occluding vascular accesses from 7 patients undergoing revision surgery in order to characterize the cells contributing to the stenosis. In all 7 patients the outgrowth contained predominantly smooth muscle-like cells admixed with fibroblasts, which produced a large amount of type IV and type I collagen. Results: Treatment with pentosan polysulfate inhibited cell proliferation and significantly reduced the accumulation of types I and type IV collagens. This was associated with increase in metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and a shift of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3 ) from the cell layer into the medium. Conclusion: These data suggest that pentosan polysulfate (PPS) may have a favorable effect in patients with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PFTE) graft by decreasing cell proliferation and collagen deposition.
TU-FG-204-00: Compliance with the AAPM CT Clinical Practice and Joint Commission Guidelines

The role of a medical physicist involved with clinical CT activities is changing rapidly. No longer is the physicist responsible for simply ensuring scanner QA. This shift is evident by looking at the trend to regulate more and more aspects of what activities must be performed to keep a CT practice within compliance. In this symposium, new guidelines from the ACR, Joint Commission, and several states will be addressed. An overview of these regulations will be provided. Then, three speakers will provide an in-depth account of how their CT protocol Optimization team functions. Lastly, a representative from the Joint Commission will provide recent surveyor education, experience, and trend information. Learning Objectives: 1.Understand the ACR, Joint Commission, and aspects of several state regulations/guidelines related to the clinical practice of CT. 2.Learn how a CT protocol optimization is organized and what tasks physicists perform from the perspective of four different institutions. T. Szczykutowicz, TPS provides CT protocols to GE Healthcare under a license agreement. TPS receives grant support from GE Healthcare.
Analyzing biomedical data sets using executable graphical models

Clinical data warehouses accumulate large amounts of terminology-coded data. In addition to increased accumulation of data, higher data granularity, and longer time-spans, there is also an increasing demand for analysis of this data. For a nonexpert, the ability to analyze this data unaided is very limited. To address this problem, I developed an analytical framework that works with flowchart models which can be extended with modular external applications and executed on retrospective data. This framework was inspired by emerging workflow technology. Workflow technology offers several tools which support modeling, execution, and extensive analysis of IT or organizational processes. The three specific aims of this dissertation were to review workflow technology and its current use, develop an analytical framework which utilizes graphical, process-based modeling, called RetroGuide (RG), and evaluate this framework using a series of case studies and a formal, comparison evaluation study. RG's graphical representation format facilitates a stepwise, procedural approach to formulating analytical tasks. It uses a single patient execution model, and it resembles a manual chart review methodology. RG models can model complex temporal conditions and utilize external data manipulation, statistical, or reasoning technologies. The representation format is split into two layers, a flowchart and a code layer, which improves collaboration of analytical team members. Reports generated automatically by RG allow advanced drill-down capabilities, show in detail the model's execution trail for each analyzed patient, and support iterative model improvements. Within this dissertation, three analytical domains of quality improvement, decision support development, and medical research were explored. Seven case studies which utilize the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) at Intermountain Healthcare are described (e.g., quality improvement problems in osteoporosis and cardiovascular patients, analysis of a computerized glucose management protocol, a problem in adverse drug event monitoring, or a research analysis of cancer patients). These case studies demonstrate RG's ability to support a wide range of complex analytical tasks, facilitate iterative exploration and review of electronic health record data, and provide a testing environment for retrospective simulation of analytical or decision support processes (using data from a real, large EDW). Finally, a formal comparison study involving modeling analytical tasks in RG and Structured Query Language (SQL), and a qualitative study of RG are presented. The results suggest that RG's modeling approach is intuitive and easy to use, enables better modeling of the evaluated set of analytical tasks, and is preferred over SQL by a group of nonexpert data analysts.
Initiation by Anointing in Early Syriac-Speaking Christianity:

Etude des rites d'initiation par onction dans le christianisme syriaque des premiers temps. Comme le montrent les Actes de Thomas, l'huile etait parfois le seul element d'initiation, l'eau etant absente ou optionnelle. L'onction seule pouvait suffir a former le sceau (signe) de la nouvelle vie chretienne. Quand des textes syriaques de cette epoque mentionnent le bapteme, ils suggerent que l'huile a plus d'importance que l'eau (valeur sapientiale et non baptismale). Quand le bapteme par l'eau constituait l'initiation de la plupart des Chretiens, les eglises de la Syrie orientale pratiquaient de nombreuses formes rituelles. Dans un rite primitif, l'onction d'huile suivie de l'eucharistie est consideree suffisante pour l'initiation.
The Meaning of Efficacy in Relation to Obstetrical Care Preferences

In preceding chapters, the argument was set forth that decisions regarding obstetrical assistance are influenced by cultural expectations, including generally shared concepts regarding the reproductive processes. Correspondingly, Bariba expectations regarding appropriate sociological and career attributes of matrones have implications for women’s selection of a birth assistant. A further issue in the consideration of cultural expectation is the cultural meaning of “efficacy.” This chapter will focus on the Bariba definition of birth as an event, on the ideal behavior for pregnant and delivering women, and on the implications of these expectations for the type of intervention which is likely to be considered necessary at birth based on the Bariba definition of effective and appropriate obstetrical therapy.
Priority Scheduling in TinyOS : A Case Study

In recent years, networked sensors are finding use in a variety of different applications ranging from temperature monitoring to battlefield strategy planning. Advances in fabrication techniques have led to the development of sensor-actuator devices called MEMS. It has now become possible to move software closer to where the “action” is, i.e. the sensors themselves. These sensor devices typically have a micro-controller, instruction and data memory, a radio module for wireless communication and an operating system. These devices are severely resource constrained in terms of memory, processing power and energy, since most of these devices are battery driven. A sensor network consists of a number of sensors spread across a geographical area. Each sensor has wireless communication capability and sufficient intelligence for signal processing and networking of the data. In this paper, we discuss a mechanism to achieve prioritized task scheduling in TinyOS. We investigate into the details of how the task scheduling is currently done in TinyOS and the adverse effects that this could cause. We show use-cases where certain ”important” tasks could be given less preference when compared to other ”notso-important” tasks. We propose a new mechanism at the programming model level to introduce the concept of priority for a task and explain how the scheduling module has to be changed to enforce this priority scheme. Finally, we show empirical results to justify our solution.
The ATHENA HPV study underrepresents "other" high-risk HPV genotypes when compared with a diverse New York City population.

Objective Persistent infection with oncogenic high risk HPV (hrHPV) types causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer. HPV 16 and 18 have been targeted for individual genotyping and vaccination because of their presence in 71% of invasive cervical cancers worldwide. Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York serves a population known for ethnic and racial diversity. Given this diversity it is possible that HPV genotypes not individually detected by current testing are causing significant disease. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of liquid based cervicovaginal cytology and Cobas HPV results reported between October 5, 2015 and March 30, 2016. This included 20 483 samples from patients aged 16-95 (average age 42), with racial distribution including: African-American 32.4%, Other (includes denied, unknown, mixed, Hispanic) 52.1%, Caucasian 14.5%, Asian 0.7%, American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.3%. In all, 14 938 samples (72.9%) were submitted for clinically requested COBAS 4800 HPV testing, which separately reports HPV 16, 18 and a pool of 12 other hrHPV. Results A total of 3180 (21.5%) tested hrHPV positive. The percentage of patients with cytologic diagnosis of HSIL (high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion) that were positive only for HPV 16 was 19.4% vs 1.8% for all cytologic diagnoses. However, only one of the HSIL cases was HPV 18 positive along with other hrHPV (OHR). Surprisingly, a majority (64.5%) was positive for only OHR. Conclusions Further evaluation is needed to determine if this pool of other hrHPV includes individual genotypes that in our population carry a higher risk of persistence and progression to cancer.
Beyond Being Social: Prospects for Transformative Social Computing

An important analytical lens for considering future trajectories and research issues for social computing is the perspective of positive design, that is, the perspective that asks how collaborative technologies like wikis, e-mail, instant messaging, blogging, microblogging, tagging, social bookmarking, collaborative filtering, social networking services, and online communities of various sorts could support social endeavor in ways never before possible, how they can strengthen the extant strengths of human social interaction. This perspective contrasts with the approach of investigating how inherent limitations of collaborative technology can be ameliorated. This article describes recent design work addressing the challenge of supporting activity awareness in new ways with social computing
Lipidomics reveals a systemic energy deficient state that precedes neurotoxicity in neonatal monkeys after sevoflurane exposure

Abstract Although numerous studies have raised public concerns regarding the safety of anesthetics including sevoflurane in children, the biochemical mechanisms leading to anesthetics-induced neurotoxicity remain elusive. Moreover, potential biomarker(s) for early detection of general anesthetics-induced brain injury are urgent for public health. We employed an enabling technology of shotgun lipidomics and analyzed nearly 20 classes and subclasses of lipids present in the blood serum of postnatal day (PND) 5 or 6 rhesus monkeys temporally collected after exposure to sevoflurane at a clinically relevant concentration or room-air as control. Lipidomics analysis revealed numerous significant anesthetic-induced changes of serum lipids and their metabolites as well as short chain acylcarnitines in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid after anesthetic exposure. These include decreased carnitine and acylcarnitines, unchanged triacylglycerol mass but accumulation of 16:0 and 18:1 fatty acyl chains in the triacylglycerol pool, losses of polyunsaturated fatty acids in both non-esterified fatty acid and phospholipid pools, and increased 4-hydroxynonenal content as early as 2 h after sevoflurane exposure. Importantly, the amounts of short chain acylcarnitines in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid were also significantly reduced after anesthetic exposure. We propose that this serum lipidomic profile can serve as indicative of neuronal damage. Our results reveal that sevoflurane exposure induces an energy deficient state in the brain evidenced by reduced free and acyl carnitine contents, as well as the presence of a pro-inflammatory state in the exposed animals, providing deep insights into the underlying mechanisms responsible for anesthetic-induced neurotoxicity.
Asymptotics and stability of the delayed Duffing equation

Abstract We examine how insertion of a delay in a system of ordinary differential equations can change the asymptotic dynamics and stabilize the structure of the system under further change.
Hematologic effects of stem cell factor in vivo and in vitro in rodents

Recombinant rat stem cell factor (rrSCF) administered to rats as a single intravenous injection causes a dose-dependent neutrophilia and lymphocytosis as well as the appearance of immature myeloid cells and occasional blast cells in the circulation. Neutrophilia begins at 2 hours, peaks at 4 to 6 hours, and subsides between 12 and 24 hours. Lymphocytosis occurs at 0.5 hours and has subsided by 2 hours. rrSCF-induced neutrophilia and lymphocytosis are abrogated by boiling, demonstrating that endotoxin-contamination of the rrSCF preparation is not responsible for the observed hematologic effects. The bone marrow at 6 hours after injection of rrSCF shows a left-shifted myeloid and erythroid hyperplasia as evidenced by significant increases in the absolute numbers of morphologically recognizable early myeloid and erythroid precursors. A concurrent decrease in the absolute numbers of mature marrow neutrophils is noted, suggesting that the release of marrow neutrophils contributes to the peripheral neutrophilia. After 2 weeks of daily injections of rrSCF, bone marrow smears demonstrate a remarkable mast cell hyperplasia accompanied by a decrease in total marrow cellularity and by a striking erythroid and lymphoid hypoplasia. rrSCF also causes mast cells to appear in the circulation and causes a systemic increase in embryonic connective tissue-type, but not mucosal-type, mast cells. In vitro long-term culture of lineage-depleted mouse bone marrow cells with rrSCF results in an almost pure outgrowth of mast cells.
The Nature of Dynamics of Cellular Carbon Dioxide

My assignment was to discuss the paper by Dr. Chinard. Unfortunately, Dr. Chinard is not here. But for the last month I have been traveling through France and looking at monuments such as cathedrals, limestone caves, and bones, and began to suspect that they might have something to do with CO2. The cathedral looked too smooth and white to be granite. I determined by scratching it with my fingernail that the cathedral was a soft material more likely to be calcium carbonate. The limestone caves had been eroded by water with CO2 dissolved in it, and the bones were obviously composed largely of CO2, the sole remains of our ancestors of long ago. So I have really been looking at a large pool of CO2 in France. We have been standing, sitting, walking, or living within structures built of CO2. This gets us back to “The nature of dynamics of cellular CO2.”
Is Philosophy a Guide to Life

Philosophers supposedly see the task of their subject as providing rational guidance to thought and action - answering “the big questions” about the world, ourselves, and our place in its scheme of things. But does philosophy provide such answers? The motto of Phi Beta Kappa, America’s oldest academic confraternity, is the proud dictum “Philosophy is the guide of life” (philosophia biou kybernetes). But is this claim defensible? Does philosophy indeed provide a satisfactory guide to decision and to action in the practical affairs of life?
Acetylcholine and Anterior Pituitary Hormone Secretion

This chapter deals with the effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on anterior pituitary hormone secretion. The literature is reviewed. In general, previous investigations of the effects of cholinergic stimuli indicate stimulation of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-adrenal and gonadal axes. Cholinergic stimulation seems to inhibit prolaction secretion. Little information is available on growth hormone.
Effects of Neomycin on Polyphosphoinositides in Inner Ear Tissues and Monomolecular Films

The effect of neomycin on polyphosphoinositides was studied in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, the incorporation of 32 Pi into phosphatidylinositoi phosphate and phosphatidylinositol diphosphate was measured in inner ear tissues. Concentrations of neomycin which decreased the electrophysiological response of the cochlea to sound stimulation also decreased labeling of phosphatidylinositol diphosphate. In vitro experiments with brain tissues and polyphosphoinositide extracts indicated a direct interaction between the lipids and neomycin.
Social networks, the 2016 US presidential election, and Kantian ethics: applying the categorical imperative to Cambridge Analytica’s behavioral microtargeting

ABSTRACTThe 2016 US presidential election witnessed the development of ethically dubious methods of political persuasion built and executed on social networking sites. The following analyzes the et...
Papers Please: Examining Sate Level Anti-Immigrant Legislation in the Wake of Arizona's SB 1070

In 2010 Arizona passed controversial immigration legislation, S.B. 170, which targets undocumented immigrants. Twenty-three additional states are in the process of passing similar bills. This paper examines states’ decision to introduce SB 1070 copycat bills. Party control of the legislature and economic concerns are central to explaining the propensity of bill introduction. Changes in the Latino population do not appear to play a significant role in the likelihood of copycat bills, nor does the number of Latino state legislators. The findings have implications for both theoretical and policy debates over the role and consequences of state actions towards immigration.
Evaluating a predictive model of student performance in introductory calculus-based physics

Various factors are known to correlate with performance in physics and other STEM courses. In this study, we report on students' performance in an introductory calculus-based physics course at the university level and correlate their performance (as measured by final grade) with a variety of measures of academic and cognitive ability. These measures include mathematical and English language ability (as measured by the SAT), incoming GPA, and spatial and scientific reasoning ability (as measured by the Mental Rotation Test and Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning). We also consider the effect on student performance of factors such as employment status, and science and mathematics self-efficacy (as measured by a survey). In this study, we report the prediction efficiency of the ability of two multivariate linear models to predict student success in the course.
Bronchoscopy and Removal of Foreign Bodies from the Trachea

Bronchoscopy is performed to assess the airway in a child who has suspected laryngeal or tracheal anomalies, for investigation of stridor and obstruction, and for the removal of foreign bodies. Anesthesia is challenging as the airway is unprotected and shared with the surgeon. Spontaneous or controlled ventilation are possible, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Anesthesia includes the use of local anesthetic to topicalize the vocal cords, combined with inhalational and/or intravenous anesthetic agents. Dexmedetomidine is emerging as a useful adjunct to anesthesia. Providing anesthesia for removal of an inhaled foreign body is a common pediatric anesthetic dilemma. Diagnosis can be difficult as the symptoms can be non-specific and the chest X-ray often normal. Bronchoscopy may be required to simultaneously diagnose and manage the problem. The ventilating bronchoscope is the surgical instrument of choice to remove inhaled foreign bodies. It may be a challenging anesthetic that is best delivered by two anesthetists, one of whom is well trained in pediatric anesthesia.
Enabling FIB-SEM Systems for Large Volume Connectomics and Cell Biology

Abstract Isotropic high-resolution imaging of large volumes provides unprecedented opportunities to advance connectomics and cell biology research. Conventional Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) offers unique benefits such as high resolution ( Here we provide a detailed description of the enhanced FIB-SEM technology, which has transformed the conventional FIB-SEM from a laboratory tool that is unreliable for more than a few days to a robust imaging platform with long term reliability: capable of years of continuous imaging without defects in the final image stack. An in-depth description of the systematic approach to optimize operating parameters based on resolution requirements and electron dose boundary conditions is also explicitly disclosed. We further explore how this technology unleashes the full potential of FIB-SEM systems, revolutionizing volume electron microscopy (EM) imaging for biology by gaining access to large sample volumes with single-digit nanoscale isotropic resolution.
Phase II Study of Ipilimumab Plus Temozolomide in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma

ABSTRACT Background Ipilimumab (Ipi) alters the immune system balance by inhibiting the suppression of T-cell function. In two Phase III trials, Ipi has shown an overall survival benefit alone and in combination with dacarbazine in previously treated and treatment-naive patients (pts) with metastatic melanoma (MM), respectively. We performed a single-institution, Phase II clinical trial of Ipi plus temozolomide (Tem) in pts with MM. Methods Pts between the ages of 18 and 75 with previously untreated unresectable Stage III or Stage IV MM and an ECOG Performance Status (PS) of 0 to 1 were enrolled in a Phase II trial of Ipi plus Tem. Induction phase consisted of Ipi 10mg/kg intravenous on Day 1 and oral Tem 200 mg/m2 on Days 1 – 4 every 3 weeks for 4 doses. Maintenance consisted of Ipi 10 mg/kg intravenous on Day 1 starting week 12 and repeated every 12 weeks and oral Tem 200 mg/m2 on Days 1 – 5 starting week 12 and repeated every 4 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 6 months. Responses were evaluated using immune-related response criteria. Results Sixty-four pts were enrolled and received at least one dose of study drug. All pts were included in the analysis. With a median follow-up of 51 weeks, the PFS rate at 6 months was 45%, exceeding the proposed rate of 30%, and the median PFS was 22 weeks. There were 10 (15.6%) confirmed complete responses and 10 (15.6%) confirmed partial responses. To date, median overall survival has not been reached. Among many variables including age, gender, ECOG PS, and stage, there was a statistically significant difference in PFS in the group of patients with bone metastasis and those without bone metastasis. Conclusion At a median follow-up of 51 weeks, the overall response rate in this study is 31%. Ipi at 10 mg/kg in combination with Tem given in an induction followed by maintenance fashion is safe, well-tolerated, and efficacious in MM. The primary endpoint of 6-month PFS has been reached and exceeded. Factors Associated with PFS No. of Pts Median PFS (weeks) Univariate P-Value Hazard Ratio 95% CI Bone Mets No 57 24 — 1.00 — Yes 7 12 0.01 2.73 1.20 – 6.20 Disclosure S. Patel: Research funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb. W. Hwu: Research funding from Merck Research funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb. K. Kim: Research funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb Advisory board, honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Thirty Years of Tacrolimus in Clinical Practice.

Tacrolimus was discovered in 1984 and entered clinical use shortly thereafter, contributing to successful solid-organ transplantation across the globe. In this review we cover development of tacrolimus, its evolving clinical utility, and issues affecting its current usage. Since earliest use of this class of immunosuppressant, concerns for calcineurin-inhibitor toxicity have led to efforts to minimize or eliminate these agents in clinical regimens but with limited success. Current understanding of the role of tacrolimus focuses more on its efficacy in preventing graft rejection and graft loss. As we enter the fourth decade of tacrolimus use, newer studies utilizing of novel combinations (as with the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, everolimus, and T-cell co-stimulation blockade with belatacept) offer potential for enhanced benefits.
Futurescapes: Imagination and temporal reorganization in the design of strategic narratives:

Recent work in organizational and strategy research increasingly accords centrality to narratives in developing and legitimating future-oriented strategies. Despite this growing interest in the use...
SAME-Infer: Software Assisted Memory Resilience for Efficient Inference at the Edge

Design of edge devices is driven by the need for the lowest possible cost and energy consumption. Both of these are strongly affected by on-chip memories as they often constitute a large fraction of embedded processors. One way to reduce energy consumption is by reducing the supply voltage. However, this causes memory cell hard fault rates to rise exponentially, thus degrading yield at low voltage and increasing cost. Also the weaker memory cells often lead to worsened chip yield and mean-time-to-failure. Deep learning neural network applications constitute a significant fraction of the workloads that are run today on these low cost embedded devices. Despite the inherent resilience of most of these deep learning applications, inference accuracy degrades significantly at high fault rates. We propose SAME-Infer, a software assisted memory resilience technique for efficient inference at the edge. It is a fault-aware linking methodology for software managed embedded memories to efficiently map the critical code/layers onto the non-faulty segments of the memory and the non-critical fault tolerant sections in the faulty or error-prone memory segments. This is done in a way such that memory hard faults can be tolerated and voltage be lowered without degrading the accuracy (SAME inference accuracy at lower voltage/higher error rate). Our evaluation on 10 real microcontroller class chips shows that more than 175mV reduction in voltage can be achieved without any loss in accuracy for a variety of neural networks. SAME-Infer can also be considered as an efficient fault tolerance/in-field repair technique as it tolerates on average 25x (upto 350x) increase in bit error rate with minimal impact on inference accuracy.
Developing a Resource-Based Manufacturing Process Capability Ontology

This paper addresses the challenge of developing an ontology for manufacturing process capability. This is an important task needed to achieve the semantical integration of various manufacturing planning and execution software and hardware (equipment) systems. The research presented has been performed within a framework of the Industrial Ontology Foundry (IOF) in which the authors are active participants. Manufacturing process capability is seen as a composition or combination of capabilities and functions of resources participating in the process. Theoretical foundation for the capability composition is presented. Individual participant resource functions are established using axiomatic design principles. The function and capability of the whole manufacturing processes is derived from individual resources using axiomatic design composition of functions. The overall approach is applied on example prismatic parts, their features, and simple machining processes. For each machining process, the machine tool brings one set of functions, while the cutting tool (mill or drill) brings its own functions. When combined for the manufacturing process those functions become capabilities in the whole process. The approach is illustrated on several feature geometries (holes, slots and pockets).
Upside potential of hedge funds as a predictor of future performance

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the relationship between upside potential and future hedge fund returns. We measure upside potential based on the maximum monthly returns of hedge funds (MAX) over a fixed time interval, and show that MAX successfully predicts cross-sectional differences in future fund returns. Hedge funds with strong upside potential generate 0.70% per month higher average returns than funds with weak upside potential. After controlling for alternative risk and performance measures, funds’ market-timing ability, and a large set of fund characteristics, the positive link between MAX and future returns remains highly significant. We conclude that MAX, as a simple proxy for realized noln-normalities in hedge funds, offers incremental information on future hedge fund returns above and beyond provided by standard risk, performance, and market-timing measures.