cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A systems neuroscience approach to autism: biological, cognitive, and clinical perspectives.

Autism is a behaviorally defined disorder characterized by a broad constellation of symptoms. Numerous studies directed to the biological substrate demonstrate clear effects of neurodevelopmental differences that will likely point to the etiology, course, and long-term outcomes of the disorder. Consistently replicated research on the neural underpinnings of autism is reviewed. In general, results suggest several main conclusions: First, autism is a heterogeneous disorder and is likely to have multiple possible etiologies; second, structural brain studies have indicated a variety of diffuse anatomical differences, reflective of an early developmental change in the growth or pruning of neural tissue, rather than localized lesions; similarly, neurochemical studies suggest early, neuromodulatory discrepancies rather than gross or localized abnormalities; and finally, there are a number of limitations on studies of brain activity that to date preclude definitive answers to questions of how the brain functions differently in autism. The large number of active research programs investigating the cognitive neuroscience of autism spectrum disorders, in combination with the exciting development of new methodologies and tools in this area, indicates the drama and excitement of work in this area.
Torture and the Ticking Bomb: The War on Terrorism as a Geographical Imagination of Power/Knowledge

Abstract Torture can be understood as part of a geopolitical response to a discursively inflated threat. Public discussions of torture in the United States between 11 September 2001 and the May 2004 revelations of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison cautiously justified brutal interrogation methods by couching the threat of terrorism in the language of the ticking-bomb scenario. Terrorist acts constitute a real threat to material security, specifically to the “topological” presuppositions of the forms of power/knowledge that Foucault and others have argued are central to modern social orders. Techniques of biopower and governmentality can only operate effectively if “normally empowered” biopolitical subjects allow populations and governing authorities to orient their governing and self-governing activities according to “mappable landscapes of expectation.” The threat of terrorism, especially in the person of the suicide bomber, renders landscapes of expectation more difficult to map, at least locally. The ticking...
Volatile components in flavour concentrates from crayfish processing waste

Volatile components in flavour concentrates prepared from crayfish (Procambarus clarkii Girard) processing waste at two temperatures (85°C and 100°C) were compared. The presence of 121 compounds was established. Among these, 78 compounds were positively identified of which 50 were detected in crayfish for the first time. These compounds were mainly N- and S-containing compounds, ketones and aldehydes. The amounts of aldehydes and ketones were 1.5 and 1.4 times higher in the 85°C concentrates, respectively; and the amounts of N-containing compounds were 2.3 times higher in the 100°C concentrates.
TSK Observers for Discrete Type-1 and Type-2 Fuzzy Systems

This paper proposes a new observer design methodology for type-1 and type-2 Takagi-Sugeno-Kang fuzzy systems. The design methodology does not require a common Lyapunov function and is, therefore, applicable to systems with nondetectable consequents. Our observers include fuzzy observers as well as constant gain observers. The observers are exponentially stable, and the designer can specify the rate of exponential convergence. The observer designs can be tested using linear matrix inequalities. The observers can be combined with a fuzzy controller for observer state feedback. The observer design methodology is demonstrated using the TORA system, and the observer state feedback is applied to the control of the inverted pendulum. The results show that the observer design provides good estimates of the state and can be used in a control system design even if the system has nondetectable consequents. Comparison to results from the literature shows that the new design can provide stable observer state feedback, where other observer designs fail.
Femtosecond studies of tryptophan solvation: correlation function and water dynamics at lipid surfaces

We report here a complete study of solvation dynamics of tryptophan in bulk water with femtosecond resolution and present an accurate method for the construction of its solvation correlation function. The water dynamics was observed in one hundred picosecond (� 108 ps) at lipid–water interfaces while in buffer and salt/buffer solutions it becomes faster in tens of picoseconds (� 7–20 ps). These water motions are being elucidated on the femtosecond to subnanosecond (or longer) time scale for their different biological functions, such as global structural stability of membranes through well-ordered interfacial water structures and efficient recognition of molecules (and ions) by membrane proteins through ultrafast water displacement. 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Time Scales of Terrestrial Carbon Response Related to Land-Use Application: Implications for Initializing an Earth System Model

AbstractThe dynamic vegetation and carbon cycling component, LM3V, of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) prototype Earth system model (ESM2.1), has been designed to simulate the effects of land use on terrestrial carbon pools, including secondary vegetation regrowth. Because of the long time scales associated with the carbon adjustment, special consideration is required when initializing the ESM when historical simulations are conducted. Starting from an equilibrated, preindustrial climate and potential vegetation state in an offline land-only model (LM3V), estimates of historical land use are instantaneously applied in five experiments beginning in the following calendar years: 1500, 1600, 1700, 1750, and 1800. This application results in the land carbon pools experiencing an abrupt change—a carbon shock—and the secondary vegetation needs time to regrow into consistency with the harvesting history. The authors find that it takes approximately 100 years for the vegetation to recover from the...
A model for preparing nurses for the challenge of substance use disorders

Substance use disorders are considered to be the nation's number one health problem. These continue to cause more deaths, illnesses, and disabilities than do other preventable health problems, providing ample support for the need for developing health professional competence in this area. This paper describes the specific steps used by The University of Texas‐Houston Health Science Center School of Nursing to infuse substance abuse content into the undergraduate curriculum, design a graduate subspecialty in addictions nursing, and offer continuing education on substance use disorders to nurses in acute care and community settings. The paper provides guidelines for other academic institutions engaged in the important task of increasing nursing competence related to substance use disorders.
The right to die (second edition)

The right to die (second edition) Alan Meisel (Wiley Law, New York, 1995), 1297 pages (2 volumes), $235.
Principles of Interactive Computation

This chapter explores the authors’ 10-year contributions to interactive computing, with special emphasis on the philosophical question of how truth has been used and misused in computing and other disciplines. We explore the role of rationalism and empiricism in formulating true principles of computer science, politics, and religion. We show that interaction is an empiricist rather than rationalist principle, and that rationalist proponents of computing have been the strongest opponents of our belief that interaction provides an empirical foundation for both computer problem solving and human behavior. The rationalist position was adopted by Pythagoras, Descartes, Kant, and many modern philosophers; our interactive approach to computing suggests that empiricism provides a better framework for understanding principles of computing.
Treatment of cardiogenic shock and vasopressor dependency with intravenous methylphenidate (Ritalin)

Abstract Four patients are presented who had prolonged hypotension secondary to cardiogenic shock and who were dependent on vasopressor substances for maintenance of blood pressure. The intravenous administration of methylphenidate appeared to allow the withdrawal of vasopressors and the maintenance thereafter of a statisfactory blood pressure. The rapidity of action suggests that the drug works on a peripheral basis.
Heat Walk: Robust Salient Segmentation of Non‐rigid Shapes

Segmenting three dimensional objects using properties of heat diffusion on meshes aim to produce salient results. The few existing algorithms based on heat diffusion do not use the full knowledge that can be gained from heat diffusion and are sensitive to varying kinds of perturbations. Our simple algorithm, Heat Walk, converts the implicit information in the heat kernel to explicit knowledge about the pathways for maximum heat flow capacity. We develop a two stage strategy for segmentation. In the first stage we quickly identify regions which are dominated by heat accumulators by employing a greedy algorithm. The second stage partitions out dissipative regions from the previously discovered accumulative regions by using a KL-divergence based criterion. The resulting algorithm is both independent of human intervention and fast because of the globally aware directed walk along the maximal heat flow capacity. Extensive experimental evidence shows the method is robust to a variety of noise factors including topological short circuits, surface holes, pose variations, variations in tessellation, missing features, scaling, as well as normal and shot noise. Comparison with the Princeton Segmentation Benchmark (PSB) shows that our method is comparable with state of the art segmentation methods and has additional advantages of being robust and self contained. Based upon theoretical insight the convergence and stability of the Heat Walk is shown.
Elaborate visual and acoustic signals evolve independently in a large, phenotypically diverse radiation of songbirds

The concept of a macroevolutionary trade-off among sexual signals has a storied history in evolutionary biology. Theory predicts that if multiple sexual signals are costly for males to produce or maintain and females prefer a single, sexually selected trait, then an inverse correlation between sexual signal elaborations is expected among species. However, empirical evidence for what has been termed the ‘transfer hypothesis’ is mixed, which may reflect different selective pressures among lineages, evolutionary covariates or methodological differences among studies. Here, we examine interspecific correlations between song and plumage elaboration in a phenotypically diverse, widespread radiation of songbirds, the tanagers. The tanagers (Thraupidae) are the largest family of songbirds, representing nearly 10% of all songbirds. We assess variation in song and plumage elaboration across 301 species, representing the largest scale comparative study of multimodal sexual signalling to date. We consider whether evolutionary covariates, including habitat, structural and carotenoid-based coloration, and subfamily groupings influence the relationship between song and plumage elaboration. We find that song and plumage elaboration are uncorrelated when considering all tanagers, although the relationship between song and plumage complexity varies among subfamilies. Taken together, we find that elaborate visual and vocal sexual signals evolve independently among tanagers.
Recanalization of Acute and Subacute Femoropopliteal Artery Occlusions with the Rotarex Catheter: One Year Follow-up, Single Center Experience

To assess the efficacy and safety of a new rotational catheter for percutaneous removal of fresh and organized thrombi in the femoropopliteal artery. Forty-one limbs in 38 patients (age 56–90 years, mean 75.6 years) with acute, subacute or chronic femoropopliteal occlusions of 1–180 days’ duration (mean 31.6 days) were treated with the Rotarex device. The Fontaine stage was mainly IIB (Rutherford 2–3, 22 patients) or III (Rutherford 4, 14 patients). The length of occlusion varied from 2 to 35 cm (mean 13.1 cm). After recanalization percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed if there was a residual stenosis of >25%. Patients were followed up with color Doppler ultrasound at 48 hr and clinically with Doppler pressures and oscillometry at 3, 6, and 12 months. After an average of two passages with the Rotarex catheter all but two limbs required PTA for residual stenosis >25%. Five patients needed additional stenting. Major complications were one groin hematoma requiring blood transfusion and one arteriovenous fistula spontaneously thrombosing after unsuccessful primary prolonged balloon dilation. Distal embolizations occurred in 10 patients; 6 clinically relevant emboli were aspirated. All occlusions were technically successfully recanalised there were 2 early reocclusions after 1 day and two at 2 weeks. Brachial–ankle indices improved from an average of 0.41 before to 0.93 after recanalization. Primary and secondary patency rates were 62% / 84% after 6 months and 39% / 68% after 1 year. The amputation-free survival at 12 months was 100%. The Rotarex mechanical thrombectomy device is an efficient, quick, easy to handle, and safe tool for the treatment of acute, subacute or even chronic peripheral arterial thromboembolic occlusions. It can be used for short or long occlusions with equal success, provided the obstruction is not heavily calcified and has been safely passed with a guidewire first.
Systolic pressure predicts plasma vasopressin responses to hemorrhage and vena caval constriction in dogs.

We have proposed that the reflex increase in arginine vasopressin (AVP) secretion in response to hypovolemia is due to arterial baroreceptor unloading. If arterial pressure is the key to the mechan...
Creation and Maintenance of Variation in Allorecognition Loci: Molecular Analysis in Various Model Systems

Allorecognition is the ability of an organism to differentiate self or close relatives from unrelated individuals. Effective allorecognition systems are critical to the survival of organisms; they prevent inbreeding, protect against pathogens, and facilitate fusions between close relatives. Where the loci governing allorecognition outcomes have been identified, the corresponding proteins often exhibit exceptional polymorphism. Two important questions about this polymorphism remain unresolved: how is it created, and how is it maintained. Studies on the evolution of polymorphism in allorecognition loci have traditionally been restricted to the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC). But because the genetic bases of several allorecognition systems have now been identified, including alr2 in Hydractinia, FuHC in Botryllus, the het (vic) loci in fungi, lagB1 and lagC1 in Dictyostelium, and self-incompatibility (SI) loci in several plant families, we are now poised to achieve a clearer understanding of how these loci evolve. In this review, we summarize what is currently know about the evolution of allorecognition loci, highlight open questions, and suggest future directions.
What is the International Rule of Law

The rule of law is widely cited as a desirable model for international politics, with inherent progressive tendencies and a self-evident meaning. However the concept itself is rarely defined. I examine the concept, as a theory and a practice, and find ambiguities and contradictions that undermine its common appeal. This is important because international legality is often used as a legitimating discourse for political power, and unstated disagreements about the meaning of the international rule of law can impede conversations about substantive political issues.
Framing the Engineering Outsourcing Debate

The effect of the dynamics of engineering outsourcing on the global economy is a discussion of keen interest in both business and public circles. Varying, inconsistent reporting of problematic, engineering graduation data has been used to fuel fears that America is losing its technolical edge. Typical articles have stated that in 2004 the United States graduated roughly 70,000 undergraduate engineers, while China graduated 600,000 and India 350,000. Our study has determined that these are inappropriate comparisons.These massive numbers of Indian and Chinese engineering graduates include not only four-year degrees, but also three-year training programs and diploma holders. These numbers have been compared against the annual production of accredited four-year engineering degrees in the United States.In addition to the lack of nuanced analysis around the type of graduates (transactional or dynamic) and quality of degrees being awarded, these articles also tend not to ground the numbers in the larger demographics of each country. A comparison of like-to-like data suggests that the U.S. produces a highly significant number of engineers, computer scientists and information technology specialists, and remains competitive in global markets.
Barrier Options on Underlyings with Time-Dependent Parameters: A Perturbation Expansion Approach

In this paper we work out a perturbation expansion for the prices of barrier options on an underlying that follows a Black-Scholes dynamics with time-dependent parameters. It is to be considered as an extension of earlier work that provides, in a sense, a zero order approximation. Through an elegant argument we work out an easy numerical procedure by which a simple yet powerful correction to the average coefficients formulae commonly used yields prices that lie within basis points of the exact price of the option. The very important issue of Greeks bucketing is discussed as well by means of a numerical example, showing that this approach is viable for the effective management of option positions. This has important consequences on options trading particularly in the FX and credit derivatives markets.
The Uterus Masculinus of Castor canadensis

The remarkably large bicornuate uterus masculinus of the European beaver, Castor fiber , has been noted by various workers since attention was first directed to this structure by Brandt and Ratzeburg (1829). More recently it has been described by Hinze (1950) and Freye (1953) who comment that the American beaver, C. canadensis , apparently does not possess a male uterus. They probably base this conclusion upon Tullberg's (1899) account of the complete absence of a uterus masculinus in the single C. canadensis he dissected. Actually, such a structure has been noted briefly by Ely (Appendix “A” in Morgan, 1868). The purpose of this study is to describe the gross and microscopic anatomy of the uterus masculinus of Castor canadensis . The extent of individual variation and correlations with the reproductive cycle are also reported. Reproductive tracts of 17 male beavers, 2 male embryos, and 2 females were collected from carcasses obtained from fur trappers in Western Montana from January to April, 1953. The appearance of the uterus masculinus in five other specimens was noted, but the reproductive tracts were not preserved. At the time the carcasses were received, they were weighed and an estimate of the age of the specimens was based on this criterion using Osborn's (1953) categories. The weights and corresponding age classes were as follows: under 25 lbs., one year; 25 to 35 lbs., two years; over 35 lbs., adult. Since the specimens were taken just prior to or during the breeding season, the youngest animals were approximately one year old. The entire reproductive tract was removed and fixed in A.F.A. (alcohol-formal-acetic). The animals had been dead for varying periods of time before they were received and fixation was, therefore, often poor. Dr. H. W. Mossman provided one additional male specimen (No. 20) collected in …
Negotiating Authorship in Chinese Universities How Organizations Shape Cycles of Credit in Science

Authorship, as a form of professional recognition, is an important topic in the study of reward systems in science. Empirical studies have shown that reward systems in science vary by historical pe...
The Pipeline Program at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry

This chapter presents an overview of the Pipeline, Profession, and Practice: Community-Based Dental Education program as it was conducted at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry from 2002 to 2007. Pipeline programs, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The California Endowment,
Radiation Protection Acceptance of Medical Electron Linear Accelerator

[Objective]Through the acceptance inspection of medical electron linear accelerator,to observe whether it meet the related radiation protection standards and regulations or not,so as to protect the safety of patients and the public.[Methods]Acceptance inspection was performed on medical electron linear accelerator according to the testing procedure and method of related laws standards of the army and nation.[Results]Inspection items included the control desk display,safety interlock system,protection installation,dose measurement system,operating manual and management regulation,protection monitoring and health management,safe operation requirement and so on;all items were in line with the requirements.Detection items: ①protection installation,the external radiation level of therapy room door,control house,therapy room wall was 3.6～5.53μSv/h,0.4～4.3 μSv/h,4.4～5.5 μSv/h(irradiation on main protection wall)and 0.1μSv/h(other irradiation state),respectively;②The relative divergence of monitoring system indicated value calibration was less than±3%,the reproducibility of 10 times measurement was not more than 0.7% when X-ray energy was 6,10 and 15MV respectively,meanwhile,the maximum linear deviation was not more than±2%.③ The deviation between the radiation matter and resultant given by factory was not more than ±3%,the uniformity and symmetry of the radiation field size was 1.04(6 MV)and 1.02(6 MV) respectively,the ratio of the permeation beam limiting device X-ray leakage absorbed and useful track group central axis maximum absorbed dose was 0.02%,the permeation beam limiting device X-ray maximum leakage absorbed dose and average leakage absorbed dose occupied 0.0012% and 0.00063% of maximum absorbed dose respectively.④The rotation center deviation of stander,collimating device,treatment couch was less than 1mm respectively.[Conclusion]Through the comprehensive inspection and detection on the medical electronic linear accelerator of technical characteristics,protection function,protection facilities of the therapy treatment,monitoring and management of radiation protection and so on,it indicates that the radiotherapy work can be commenced owing to the radiation protection consistent with the related standards.
Steady-state and transient comparison of cold and hot aisle containment and chimney

Aisle containment is increasingly being used in data center cooling solutions because of the benefits of segregating the cold and hot air streams which reduces mixing and enhances energy savings. Containment can be integrated into legacy raised floor or non-raised floor local cooling systems such as in-row coolers. However, containment is not always entirely effective due to leakage. Although containment systems providing better sealing are becoming available, significant leakage exists in currently operational sites. The impact of leakage can be significant leading to backflow, the Venturi effect or entrainment. Comparisons between Cold Aisle Containment (CAC) and Hot Aisle Containment (HAC) indicate that there is a slight advantage of the latter in terms of ambient room temperature, failure scenarios and heat exchanger efficiency, although CAC systems can be easier to install. Detailed comparisons between both containment solutions are not widely available. Each containment approach has different behavior characteristics and air flow paths. For instance, leakage can introduce different flow and temperature conditions at server inlets depending on whether CAC or HAC is being used. An experimental characterization of containment was carried out at the ES2 research data center lab at Binghamton University [1] along with detailed numerical modeling. The numerical model was validated based on the experimentally measured flow rate of the perforated tiles in the cold aisles. Also, for the different types of IT equipment modeled in the simulations, experimentally measured flow impedance and fan curves were utilized. The details of the containment including leakage at the bottom and sides of the racks, the mounting rails, blanking panels and door seams were characterized experimentally and then incorporated in the computational model. Fan curves for the three CRAH blowers were used to accurately represent the targeted flow rates. This study focuses on three containment configurations: cold aisle containment and hot aisle containment and chimney (with a drop ceiling). In first two cases, the CRAH flow rate is controlled based on the pressure difference that was measured by three sensors inside and outside of the containment and for the third case, the CRAH flow rate was controlled based on IT required air flow. The water flow rate of the CRAH unit is also controlled based on the air return temperature and total heat load in the room so as to maintain the supply air temperature set point. The temperature and pressure fields in the aisles and at the server inlets and outlets are monitored for all the cases with leakage.
Independent Contributions of Nocturnal Hot Flashes and Sleep Disturbance to Depression in Estrogen-Deprived Women.

Context: Women are at increased risk for mood disturbance during the menopause transition. Hot flashes (HFs), sleep disruption, and fluctuating estradiol levels correlate with menopause-associated depression but co-occur, making cause and effect relationships difficult to disentangle. Objective: Using a GnRH agonist (GnRHa) experimental model, we investigated whether depressive symptoms are associated with HFs and/or are explained by concomitant sleep fragmentation in the absence of estradiol fluctuation. Design and Intervention: Depressive symptoms, objective polysomnographic sleep parameters, subjective sleep quality, serum estradiol, and HFs were assessed before and 4 weeks after open-label depot GnRHa (leuprolide 3.75-mg) administration. Setting: Academic medical center. Participants: Twenty-nine healthy nondepressed premenopausal volunteers (mean age, 27.3 years). Results: Serum estradiol was rapidly and uniformly suppressed. HFs developed in 69% of the subjects. On univariate analysis, worsening of ...
Technology as Teammate: Examining the Role of External Cognition in Support of Team Cognitive Processes

In this paper we advance team theory by describing how cognition occurs across the distribution of members and the artifacts and technology that support their efforts. We draw from complementary theorizing coming out of cognitive engineering and cognitive science that views forms of cognition as external and extended and integrate this with theorizing on macrocognition in teams. Two frameworks are described that provide the groundwork for advancing theory and aid in the development of more precise measures for understanding team cognition via focus on artifacts and the technologies supporting their development and use. This includes distinctions between teamwork and taskwork and the notion of general and specific competencies from the organizational sciences along with the concepts of offloading and scaffolding from the cognitive sciences. This paper contributes to the team cognition literature along multiple lines. First, it aids theory development by synthesizing a broad set of perspectives on the varied forms of cognition emerging in complex collaborative contexts. Second, it supports research by providing diagnostic guidelines to study how artifacts are related to team cognition. Finally, it supports information systems designers by more precisely describing how to conceptualize team-supporting technology and artifacts. As such, it provides a means to more richly understand process and performance as it occurs within sociotechnical systems. Our overarching objective is to show how team cognition can both be more clearly conceptualized and more precisely measured by integrating theory from cognitive engineering and the cognitive and organizational sciences.
Multichannel Signal Processing With Deep Neural Networks for Automatic Speech Recognition

Multichannel automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems commonly separate speech enhancement, including localization, beamforming, and postfiltering, from acoustic modeling. In this paper, we perform multichannel enhancement jointly with acoustic modeling in a deep neural network framework. Inspired by beamforming, which leverages differences in the fine time structure of the signal at different microphones to filter energy arriving from different directions, we explore modeling the raw time-domain waveform directly. We introduce a neural network architecture, which performs multichannel filtering in the first layer of the network, and show that this network learns to be robust to varying target speaker direction of arrival, performing as well as a model that is given oracle knowledge of the true target speaker direction. Next, we show how performance can be improved by factoring the first layer to separate the multichannel spatial filtering operation from a single channel filterbank which computes a frequency decomposition. We also introduce an adaptive variant, which updates the spatial filter coefficients at each time frame based on the previous inputs. Finally, we demonstrate that these approaches can be implemented more efficiently in the frequency domain. Overall, we find that such multichannel neural networks give a relative word error rate improvement of more than 5% compared to a traditional beamforming-based multichannel ASR system and more than 10% compared to a single channel waveform model.
Toward an Interdisciplinary Approach

An overview of some fifteen comprehensive papers is difficult. It struck me during the course of the meetings that the problems we are dealing with in aging of the brain are very large issues, and that there is a life span of these natural problems that is much longer than any one of our individual life spans. Some of these problems, therefore, are more suited for institutional development than the development during individual careers. In fact, the productive life span of an individual researcher seems quite short in relation to these problems.
Self-limitation of prey and predator populations

This and the subsequent four chapters explore a variety of complications which seem to pop up frequently when dealing with real predator-prey systems. The goal in these chapters is to discover if a specific feature of the natural history of a predator-prey interaction will have the same effect, wherever encountered. The topics treated do not, by any means, exhaust the list of reasonable complications which occur in predator-prey interactions. Beyond their prevalence, they share the redeeming feature that their contributions to population dynamics are beginning to be understood. For some of these features we have good, well-focused experiments, for others suggestive field data, and I shall try to complement existing empirical data with a simple account of the pertinent theory.
Long-Term Outcomes of Small for Gestational Age Twins Born at 34 Weeks or Later.

Objective This article aims to compare long-term neurodevelopmental and health outcomes of twins born at 34 weeks or later, based on the presence of small for gestational age (SGA). Study Design This study is a mail-based survey of twin gestations delivered by a single practice. We compared twins with and without SGA delivered at ≥34 weeks. There were two primary outcomes for this study: a composite of major adverse outcomes (death; cerebral palsy; necrotizing enterocolitis; chronic renal, heart, or lung disease) and a composite of minor adverse outcomes (learning disability, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy). Regression analysis was performed to control for clustering of outcomes within twin pairs. Results A total of 712 children were included. Comparing twins with birthweights Conclusion Twins with SGA
Illiberalism in Political Islam as Emotion Rather Than Ideology: Moral Discourse on Alcohol and Blasphemy in Turkey

AbstractBased on ethnographic interviews with mainstream Islamist voters conducted in Turkey in 2010, this article argues that religion's influence on the form and substance of political opinion can be emotive rather than ideological. Focusing on the moral discourses subjects used to support or oppose legal restrictions on two religiously proscribed activities—consuming alcohol and blasphemy—I question the presumption that a religious ‘ideology' rooted in dogmatic adherence to explicit theological principles undergirds the more ‘illiberal' attitudes exhibited by Islamists. Beyond confirming many scholars’ findings that liberal positions can often be grounded in normative Islam, my analysis of these two ‘hot-button' religious issues reveals that the most substantively illiberal opinions are often constructed as logically unconnected to religion—even on irreducibly ‘religious' topics. Particularly, subjects universally constructed the necessity of prohibiting blasphemy as arising not from any divine mandate...
Recent Advances in Zirconium-89 Chelator Development

The interest in zirconium-89 (89Zr) as a positron-emitting radionuclide has grown considerably over the last decade due to its standardized production, long half-life of 78.2 h, favorable decay characteristics for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and its successful use in a variety of clinical and preclinical applications. However, to be utilized effectively in PET applications it must be stably bound to a targeting ligand, and the most successfully used 89Zr chelator is desferrioxamine B (DFO), which is commercially available as the iron chelator Desferal®. Despite the prevalence of DFO in 89Zr-immuno-PET applications, the development of new ligands for this radiometal is an active area of research. This review focuses on recent advances in zirconium-89 chelation chemistry and will highlight the rapidly expanding ligand classes that are under investigation as DFO alternatives.
Meeting the Global Challenges of Doing Business in the Five Candidate Countries on the Road to Join the European Union

The success of indigenous business firms is no longer exclusively an internal process given increasing competition and globalization. Achieving success under dynamic conditions requires active involvement of governments to provide proper environments for local businesses to survive global challenges. Many also want to attract foreign investors to start new businesses. The role of governments is no longer limited to providing preconditions for basic infrastructure needs but now also includes fortifying business environmental factors such as the Internet, legal systems, trained work forces, and equitable tax systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate the conditions in Albania, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey. Using the Enterprise Survey from the World Bank, this study evaluates these nations’ adaptation to the global challenges of doing business. These five nations were selected because of their status of potentially joining the European Union (EU). The findings indicate that there are problems and significant gaps among these nations. Suggestions include that national leaders develop policies that go beyond simply addressing the identified obstacles. Additionally, company managers can also use the insights from this study when evaluating these nations as potential EU members before entering these markets.
Optimization Algorithms for Congested Network Models

This paper describes recently developed nonlinear programming algorithms for certain large-scale congested network models. The techniques include Restricted Simplicial Decomposition (RSD) applied to the single commodity flow problem (RSDNET) and the standard traffic assignment problem (RSDTA), and the basic simplicial strategy applied to the network variational inequality problem (SDVI). Computational results are presented for each method, including tests conducted on large networks from real world models.
Natural Selection: How Selection on Behavior Interacts with Selection on Morphology.

Summary Can behavior accelerate or buffer morphological evolution? A recent experiment in a natural setting shows that selection acts on behavior and morphology, but acts on each trait independently of the other.
Neuropsychological predictors of health and safety abilities in dementia.

The Independent Living Scales Health and Safety (ILS HS) scale is commonly used by neuropsychologists when evaluating older adults’ instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). However, there i...
Immune activity at the gut epithelium in the larval sea urchin

The embryo of the purple sea urchin has been a fruitful model for the study of developmental gene regulatory networks. For similar reasons, the feeding sea urchin larva provides a gene regulatory model to investigate immune interactions at the gut epithelium. Here we describe what is known of the gut structure and immune cells of the sea urchin larva, and the cellular and gene expression response of the larva to gut-associated immune challenge. As a focused example of how the sea urchin larva can be compared with vertebrate systems, we discuss the expression and function of the IL-17 signalling system in the course of the larval immune response.
Value of terminal latency index and sensory electrophysiology in idiopathic and diabetic chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.

Abstract Objectives To evaluate sensory electrophysiology, terminal latency index (TLI), and treatment response in idiopathic and diabetic chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP). Methods We performed a retrospective review of 147 patients with CIDP who underwent electrodiagnostic evaluation (January 2000–December 2015). Eighty-nine patients fulfilled electrophysiological criteria described by the Ad hoc Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and Albers et al. Fifty-eight patients were divided into idiopathic (N = 40) and diabetic (N = 18) groups. These groups were compared for age, sex, cerebrospinal fluid protein, response to treatment, sensory response abnormalities, and TLI measurements using chi-square tests for binary and categorical variables and using t-tests and mixed-effects models for continuous variables. Results The difference in abnormal rates of sensory responses was significant for the sural nerve, with the idiopathic group having a lower rate than the diabetic group (80% vs. 100%, p Conclusions Sural sensory responses may have some value in differentiating idiopathic CIDP from diabetic CIDP. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings. Significance Our study suggests that abnormal sural sensory potentials may have some significance in differentiating idiopathic CIDP from diabetic CIDP.
Unique Photophysical Properties of Infrared Absorbing Polymers

A nascent challenge for organic semiconductors is their application in infrared optoelectronics. However, infrared absorption is linked to the formation of strong electronic correlations and open-shell character. We use ultrafast spectroscopy to identify and explain the unusual photophysics of these materials.
Advances in prevention and control of nosocomial Infection in neonatal intensive care unit

The incidence of nosocomial infections in the neonatal intensive care unit(NICU) is high. Nosocomial infections is one of the most common causes of neonatal death in critically ill neonates. Strategies for the prevention nosocomial infections include hand hygiene practices,prevention of central venous catheter-related infection and ventilator-associated pneumonias, antifungal prophylaxis, skin care, early enteral feeding and probioties. Effective prevention and control nosocomial infections in NICU may decrease neonatal mortality,hospitaliztion stay and hospital costs.This review focuses on the latest preventive strategies for nosocomial infections in NICU. Key words: Intensive care unit; Nosocomial infection; Prevention and control; Infant,newborn
FRI0173 IDENTIFICATION OF RISK FACTORS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF OSTEONECROSIS IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

Background: Patient with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), particularly those who received corticosteroids are at a high risk of osteonecrosis (ON). Objectives: In this analysis, we aimed at determining the predictors of ON in a longitudinal lupus cohort in which Caucasian and African-American ethnicities are well represented. Methods: The data were reviewed from the initiation of the cohort in 1987 until October 2019. 2428 patients were included in the analysis based on 224295 person-months of follow-up. ON was recorded using the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics/ American College of Rheumatology (SLICC/ACR) Damage Index. To calculate the rate of ON in each demographic and clinical subgroup, we calculated the number of ON events divided by the number of person-months at risk and converted this rate to rates per person-year. To assess the relationship between risk factors and rates of ON events, we used the pooled logistic regression. Rate ratios were adjusted for age. After identifying a set of variables related to ON incidence, we fit a final multivariable model to identify the most important risk factors for incident ON. Results: 287 ON cases were identified, giving a point prevalence of 11%. ON cases that occurred before cohort entry were excluded. 122 incident events of ON occurred after cohort entry and were included in the final analysis. In the multivariable analysis, African-Americans were at twice the risk for ON compared to Caucasians. Male gender and smokers had about 80% and 50% increased risk of ON compared to females and non-smokers respectively. For every 10 year increase in the age there was a 20% reduced risk for ON. Patients diagnosed after the 1990’s had a 50% reduced risk of ON compared to those diagnosed before 1990’s. A highest daily dose of prednisone of 40 mg or higher, even when administered for a month or less, increased significantly the risk of ON. Use of pulse steroid was not associated with an increased risk of ON. Conclusion: Ethnicity remains an important determinant in the risk of ON. African-American SLE patients are at double the risk of ON compared to Caucasians. APOL1 risk variants confer an increased risk of ON in this high-risk ethnic group. Oral prednisone more than 40 mg daily administered for a month or less, at any point in the disease course, remains the most important predictor of ON. Prednisone-free or prednisone-limited regimens should be reinforced in SLE trials. Acknowledgments: The Hopkins Lupus Cohort was funded by NIH Grant R01-AR069572 Disclosure of Interests: None declared
On becoming “essential”: Coronavirus lessons of ontology- from the migrant farmworker and us who consume the fruits of her labor:

During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, the migrant farmworker came to be deemed as ‘essential’ worker, thereby complicating discourses of ‘illegality’. This moment presents an ontological paradox...
Twin Vaginal Deliveries in Labor Rooms: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Objective Twin vaginal deliveries (VDs) are often performed in the operating room (OR) given the theoretical risk of conversion to cesarean delivery (CD) for the aftercoming twin. We aim to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of performing VDs for twin gestations in the labor and delivery room (LDR) versus OR. Study Design We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis using a decision-analysis model that compared the costs and effectiveness of two strategies of twin deliveries undergoing a trial of labor: (1) intended delivery in the LDR and 2) delivery in the OR. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess strength and validity of the model. Primary outcome was incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) defined as cost needed to gain 1 quality-adjusted life year (QALY). Results In the base-case scenario, where 7% of deliveries resulted in conversion to CD for twin B, attempting to deliver twins in the LDR was the most cost-effective strategy. For every QALY gained by delivering in the OR, 243,335 USD would need to be spent (ICER). In univariate sensitivity analyses, the most cost-effective strategy shifted to delivering in the OR when the following was true: (1) probability of successful VD was less than 86%, (2) probability of neonatal morbidity after emergent CD exceeded 3.5%, (3) cost of VD in an LDR exceeded 10,500 USD, (4) cost of CD was less than 10,000 USD, or (5) probability of neonatal death from emergent CD exceeded 2.8%. Assuming a willingness to pay of 100,000 USD per neonatal QALY gained, attempted VD in the LDR was cost effective in 51% of simulations in the Monte Carlo analysis. Conclusion Twin VDs in the LDR are cost effective based on current neonatal outcome data, taking into account gestational age and associated morbidity. Further investigation is needed to elucidate impact of cost and outcomes on optimal utilization of resources. Key Points
Reprogramming an energetic AKT-PAK5 axis boosts axon energy supply and facilitates neuron survival and regeneration after injury and ischemia

Summary Mitochondria supply adenosine triphosphate (ATP) essential for neuronal survival and regeneration. Brain injury and ischemia trigger acute mitochondrial damage and a local energy crisis, leading to degeneration. Boosting local ATP supply in injured axons is thus critical to meet increased energy demand during nerve repair and regeneration in adult brains, where mitochondria remain largely stationary. Here, we elucidate an intrinsic energetic repair signaling axis that boosts axonal energy supply by reprogramming mitochondrial trafficking and anchoring in response to acute injury-ischemic stress in mature neurons and adult brains. P21-activated kinase 5 (PAK5) is a brain mitochondrial kinase with declined expression in mature neurons. PAK5 synthesis and signaling is spatiotemporally activated within axons in response to ischemic stress and axonal injury. PAK5 signaling remobilizes and replaces damaged mitochondria via the phosphorylation switch that turns off the axonal mitochondrial anchor syntaphilin. Injury-ischemic insults trigger AKT growth signaling that activates PAK5 and boosts local energy supply, thus protecting axon survival and facilitating regeneration in in vitro and in vivo models. Our study reveals an axonal mitochondrial signaling axis that responds to injury and ischemia by remobilizing damaged mitochondria for replacement, thereby maintaining local energy supply to support central nervous system (CNS) survival and regeneration.