cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Release of the stiff elbow with mini-open technique.

Background Currently, there are many techniques used in the surgical release of elbow contracture, but no single technique has gained widespread acceptance. The purpose of this study was to report the outcomes of a lateral-column approach combined with a mini-open triceps-splitting technique for elbow contracture release. Methods Thirty-six patients with a mean age of 39 years were included in the study. All patients underwent a combined lateral and minimal posterior triceps-splitting open elbow contracture release. Elbow range of motion and visual analog scale pain scores were recorded. The Mayo Elbow Performance Score was used to assess functional outcome. Results The mean follow-up period was 38 months. Mean pain levels decreased from 7.59 preoperatively to 0.44 postoperatively ( P P P Conclusion This study shows that a combined lateral and mini-open triceps-splitting approach is a safe and effective alternative technique for the treatment of elbow contractures.
A Symbol for Women's Progress: A Rhetorical Analysis of Hillary Rodham Clinton's Story as America's Story

ABSTRACT Hillary Rodham Clinton's life has been full of success, but the success has not been without difficulties. As a lawyer, she displayed her legal prowess by maintaining an aggressive and authoritative stand on upholding justice in society. This approach was effective for a lawyer; however, it was deemed disturbing, from the view of the public, in her role as first lady. As first lady, Clinton dealt with conflicting ideals regarding her manner and power in politics. After her husband's two terms as president, Clinton earned a position as a senator and eventually announced, as well as conceded, her candidacy for the 2008 democratic presidential nomination. As she learned to walk the fine line of gender norms, she became the only first lady to serve in the US Cabinet. Clinton breaks cultural barriers, challenges traditional perceptions, and advocates for women. Using rhetorical analysis and Aristotle's notions of ethos and pathos, I examine Clinton's speech announcing her candidacy for president and h...
Nonparametric Variable Selection, Clustering and Prediction for Large Biological Datasets

The development of parsimonious models for reliable inference and prediction of responses in high-dimensional regression settings is often challenging due to relatively small sample sizes and the presence of complex interaction patterns between a large number of covariates. We propose an efficient, nonparametric framework for simultaneous variable selection, clustering and prediction in high-throughput regression settings with continuous outcomes. The proposed model utilizes the sparsity induced by Poisson-Dirichlet processes (PDPs) to group the covariates into lower-dimensional latent clusters consisting of covariates with similar patterns among the samples. The data are permitted to direct the choice of a suitable cluster allocation scheme, choosing between PDPs and their special case, a Dirichlet process. Subsequently, the latent clusters are used to build a nonlinear prediction model for the responses using an adaptive mixture of linear and nonlinear elements, thus achieving a balance between model parsimony and flexibility. Through analyses of gene expression microarray datasets we demonstrate the reliability of the proposed method’s clustering mechanism and show that the technique compares favorably to, and often outperforms, existing methodologies in terms of the prediction accuracies of the subject-specific clinical outcomes.
New species of Hyphoderma from Taiwan

Four species of Hyphoderma collected from Taiwan during 1991-1994 are reported as new to science, viz. H. acystidiatum, H. cremeum, H. den- sum and H. subsetigerum. Morphological descriptions and microscopic line drawings are given for all four species. Cultural studies are provided for H. cremeum, H. densum and H. subsetigerum. All three species are bipolar in sexuality, and have normal nuclear behav- ior.
Interaction of earthworm species in sewage sludge-Amended soil microcosms: Lumbricus terrestris and Eisenia fetida

(1) Soil microcosms were treated with combinations of sewage sludge and two species of earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris L. and Eiseniafetida (Savigny), and then incubated for 46 days at 16 'C. (2) In sludge microcosms, L. terrestris increased in biomass, reduced organic matter and moisture percentages in surface layers, increased water-stable soil aggregates of 4 mm diameter and over and reduced the population density of nematodes. (3) In sludge microcosms, E. fetida increased in biomass, increased 0 5-1 0-mm diameter water-stable soil aggregates and reduced percentage moisture and the density of nematodes but did not affect the percentage of organic matter. (4) The presence of E. fetida had a negative effect on weight gain and cast stability of L. terrestris.
Threading Dislocation Densities in GaAs Grown on Reduced Area Si Substrates

We have studied the possibilities of reducing the threading dislocation (TD) density in GaAs on Si using free side wall growth on patterned Si substrates and/or using a soft ZnSe interlayer in combination with post growth annealing procedures. TD densities were accurately determined using large area plan view TEM and were found to be unaffected by proximity to free side walls and by the ZnSe interlayer. Post growth heat treatments led to a factor of ~2 reduction in TD density and to bunching of dislocations throughout the thickness of the film.
Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography is Inadequate to Detect Early Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy

Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality following heart transplantation (HT) and is already present in 8% of patients by one year post-HT 1. The end result is a pan-arterial vasculopathy leading to stenosis of coronary arteries and endothelial dysfunction of both the epicardial coronary arteries and the sub-endocardial microvasculature 2. Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is commonly used to screen for CAV in patients with chronic kidney disease, and in some instances alternating with coronary angiography to minimize risk of progressive renal dysfunction. DSE carries a Class IIa recommendation from the ISHLT for CAV screening for those unable to undergo invasive evaluation 3. Previous studies reported a good sensitivity (72–95%) and specificity (55–91%) to detect luminal CAV 4. A recent single center failed to replicate these findings among patients at least five years post-transplant, showing a sensitivity to detect CAV1-CAV3 of only 7–28% 5. We sought to determine the adequacy of DSE for CAV assessment in the first five years after transplant.
Editorial: Financial Incentives to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening: Does it Make Cents?

Editorial: Financial Incentives to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening: Does it Make Cents?
Neutralization of Bactericidal Activity Related to Antimicrobial Carryover in Broiler Carcass Rinse Samples.

ABSTRACT Studies were conducted to examine the ability of three chemicals to neutralize residual antibacterial activity of commercial antimicrobial chemicals used in poultry processing. Chemical antimicrobial interventions used in poultry processing may have potential for carryover into whole poultry carcass buffered peptone water (BPW) rinses collected for monitoring Salmonella contamination. Such carryover may lead to false-negative results due to continuing bactericidal action of the antimicrobial chemicals in the rinse. To simulate testing procedures used to detect Salmonella contamination, studies were conducted by separately adding test neutralizers (highly refined soy lecithin, sodium thiosulfate, or sodium bicarbonate) to BPW and using these solutions as carcass rinses. Control samples consisted of BPW containing no additional neutralizing agents. One of four antimicrobial solutions (cetylpyridinium chloride, peroxyacetic acid, acidified sodium chlorite, and a pH 1 hydrochloric:citric acid mix) wa...
Water at the Ionic Liquid–Gas Interface Examined by Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) was used to quantitatively assess the chemical changes of the top few nanometers of the ionic liquid (IL)–gas interface of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, [BMIM][OAc], in the presence of water vapor at room temperature. Above 10–3 Torr the uptake of water into the interfacial region was observed and increases up to a maximum water mole fraction (xw) of 0.85 at 5 Torr. Comparing APXPS to gravimetric analysis measurements, the kinetics of interfacial uptake are rapid compared to bulk water absorption. There is growing evidence from experiments and molecular dynamic simulations that water/IL mixtures undergo a phase transition from being homogeneously mixed to a system composed of nanometer sized, segregated polar and nonpolar regions near xw = 0.7 in the bulk. For xw > 0.6, APXPS C 1s spectra show a sudden change in shape. It is suggested that this observed spectral change in C 1s is due to a similar nanostructuring occurring near the IL–gas int...
Visual cues to aid 3D pointing in a virtual mirror

We address a 3D pointing problem for a “virtual mirror” view used in collaborative VR. The virtual mirror is a large TV display showing a depth-camera-based image of a user in a surrounding virtual environment. There are problems with pointing and communicating to remote users due to the indirectness of pointing in a mirror and a low sense of depth. We propose several visual cues to help the user control pointing depth, and present an initial user study, providing a basis for further refinement and investigation of techniques.
Cenozoic Muricidae of the Western Atlantic Region Part V- Pterynotus and Poirieria

This paper covers the two, closely related, most ancient muricine genera Pterynotus, including the subgenera Pterochelus and Purpurellus, and Poirieria, with the subgenera Paziella, Flexopteron, Panamurex, and a new subgenus Pazinotues, here named (type species: "Eupleura'' stimpsonii Dall, 1889). In the New World Pterynotus and Paziella appear together in the Paleocene beds of Alabama; Poirieria s.s. first occurs in the lower Eocene of Alabama; Pterochelus and Panamurex are first seen in the Oligocene of Mississippi; and Pazinotus is first found in the (?) upper Miocene of Jamaica. All have at least one living representative in the Recent fauna of the western Atlantic region. Flexopteron first appears in the Oligocene of Germany and is represented in the New World by a single species from the (?) upper Miocene of Jamaica. There is no living representative of this subgenus. Purpurellus first occurs in the lower Miocene of North Carolina and is found in the Recent fauna only off the west coasts of Africa and tropical America. A total of 42 species are treated systematically. These include twelve assigned to Pterynotus s.s., two to Pterochelus and one to Purpurellus. Two species are assigned to Poirieria s.s., seven to Paziella, one to Flexopteron, two to Pazinotus, and fifteen to Panamurex. Of the total number ten are new species: Pterynotus (Pterynotus) stenzeli, from the early middle Eocene of Texas; Poirieria (Poirieria) woodsensis, from the lower Eocene of Alabama; Pterynotus (Purpurellus) repetiti from the early lower Miocene of North Carolina; Pterynottts (Pterynotus) boerlei and Poirieria (Panamurex) mauryae, from the (?) late lower Miocene of Florida; Poirieria (Paziella) septima and Poirieria (Panamurex) dubitalis, from the (?) upper Miocene of Mexico; Poirieria (Pazinotus) bowdenensis, from the (?) upper Miocene of Jamaica; Poirieria (Panamurex) gabbi, from the middle Miocene of the Dominican Republic; and Poirieria (Panamurex) velero, from the Recent off northern South America. In addition, four homonyms are renamed. These are: Pterynotus (Pterynotus) havanensis, for Murex tristichus Dall non Beyrich; Pterynotus (Pterynotus) bushae, for Murex pygmaeus Bush non Schlotheim; Poirieria (Paziella) harrisi, for Murex morulus Conrad non Schroter; and Poirieria (Panamurex) macneili, for Murex simplex Aldrich non Philippi.
Stealth Adapt: Assessing UAS Operator Workload During Simulated Search and Rescue:

The present study was designed to empirically examine the effectiveness of adaptive training methods to enhance operators’ performance of unmanned aerial systems commonly used in search-and-rescue ...
A critical review of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) in sewer collection systems: Challenges and control

Fat, oil, and grease (FOG) released into the sewer collection system have resulted in the production of insoluble solids, leading to FOG blockages in sanitary sewer pipes and consequently sanitary ...
Place brand identity: An exploratory analysis of three deep south states

Place branding and marketing are becoming key governance strategies that can increase governance legitimacy by meaningfully involving local stakeholder groups within the brand identity creation process. There remains a gap in knowledge regarding how place branding managers seek to involve stakeholders in the brand development, communication, and evaluation process. This research, based in three U.S. Deep South states and using Kavaratzis and Hatchʼs (2013) brand identity framework, finds that practitioners are doing well when it comes to expressing local beliefs within the brand identity, but can improve when it comes to analyzing and incorporating that feedback meaningfully. Without this, critical local stakeholders can feel alienated from local governance practices, thus decreasing legitimacy in branding and marketing processes and policies alike.
Systemic Nonantibiotic Therapy in Acne and Rosacea

Systemic therapy for acne is limited to antibiotics, hormonal manipulation, and isotretinoin. This chapter will consider the latter two. Oral contraceptives and spironolactone are valuable hormonal agents whose use will be reviewed. Isotretinoin usage and new findings regarding mechanism and safety will be discussed.
Organellar phylogenomics inform systematics in the green algal family Hydrodictyaceae (Chlorophyceae) and provide clues to the complex evolutionary history of plastid genomes in the green algal tree of life

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Phylogenomic analyses across the green algae are resolving relationships at the class, order, and family levels and highlighting dynamic patterns of evolution in organellar genomes. Here we present a within-family phylogenomic study to resolve genera and species relationships in the family Hydrodictyaceae (Chlorophyceae), for which poor resolution in previous phylogenetic studies, along with divergent morphological traits, have precluded taxonomic revisions. METHODS Complete plastome sequences and mitochondrial protein-coding gene sequences were acquired from representatives of the Hydrodictyaceae using next-generation sequencing methods. Plastomes were characterized, and gene order and content were compared with plastomes spanning the Sphaeropleales. Single-gene and concatenated-gene phylogenetic analyses of plastid and mitochondrial genes were performed. KEY RESULTS The Hydrodictyaceae contain the largest sphaeroplealean plastomes thus far fully sequenced. Conservation of plastome gene order within Hydrodictyaceae is striking compared with more dynamic patterns revealed across Sphaeropleales. Phylogenetic analyses resolve Hydrodictyon sister to a monophyletic Pediastrum, though the morphologically distinct P. angulosum and P. duplex continue to be polyphyletic. Analyses of plastid data supported the neochloridacean genus Chlorotetraedron as sister to Hydrodictyaceae, while conflicting signal was found in the mitochondrial data. CONCLUSIONS A phylogenomic approach resolved within-family relationships not obtainable with previous phylogenetic analyses. Denser taxon sampling across Sphaeropleales is necessary to capture patterns in plastome evolution, and further taxa and studies are needed to fully resolve the sister lineage to Hydrodictyaceae and polyphyly of Pediastrum angulosum and P. duplex.
Foot impairments contribute to functional limitation in individuals with ankle sprain and chronic ankle instability

To investigate the clinical measures of foot posture and morphology, multisegmented joint motion and play, strength, and dynamic balance in recreationally active young adults with and without a history of a lateral ankle sprain (LAS), copers, and chronic ankle instability (CAI). Eighty recreationally active individuals (healthy: n = 22, coper: n = 21, LAS: n = 17, CAI: n = 20) were included. Foot posture index (FPI), morphologic measures, joint motion (weight-bearing dorsiflexion (WBDF), rearfoot dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion, eversion; forefoot inversion, eversion; hallux flexion, extension), joint play (proximal and distal tibiofibular; talocrural and subtalar, forefoot; 1st tarsometatarsal and metatarsophalangeal), strength (dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, inversion, eversion, hallux flexion, lesser toe flexion), and Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) (anterior, posteromedial, posterolateral) were assessed. There were no group differences in FPI or morphological measures. LAS and CAI groups had decreased ankle dorsiflexion (p = 0.001) and greater frontal plane motion (p < 0.001), first MT plantar flexion, and sagittal excursion (p < 0.001); increased talocrural glide (p = 0.02) and internal rotation (p < 0.001) and decreased forefoot inversion joint play (p < 0.001); and decreased strength in all measures (p < 0.001) except dorsiflexion compared to healthy controls. The LAS group also demonstrated decreased distal tibiofibular (p = 0.04) and forefoot general laxity (p = 0.05) and SEBT performance (anterior: p = 0.02; posteromedial: p < 0.001; posterolateral: p < 0.001). Individuals with LAS or CAI have increased pain, impaired physiologic and accessory joint motion, ligamentous tenderness, and strength in the foot and ankle. Clinicians should assess the multiple segments of the ankle–foot complex when caring for individuals with an LAS or CAI. II.
Sometimes-Recurse Shuffle

We describe a security-preserving construction of a random permutation of domain size N from a random function, the construction tolerating adversaries asking all N plaintexts, yet employing just \(\Theta(\lg N)\) calls, on average, to the one-bit-output random function. The approach is based on card shuffling. The basic idea is to use the sometimes-recursetransformation: lightly shuffle the deck (with some other shuffle), cut the deck, and then recursively shuffle one of the two halves. Our work builds on a recent paper of Ristenpart and Yilek.
Making Sense of Human Wayfinding: Review of Cognitive and Linguistic Knowledge for Personal Navigation with a New Research Direction

This article provides a summary of the basic knowledge of human wayfinding found in the literature. It explores the historical roots of the theories (competence literature) and some of the more inductive empirical results (performance literature) of wayfinding. It will point out the limited scope of these investigations compared to the richness of actual human wayfinding, especially in describing the information needs for wayfinding. To address this lack of knowledge the use of the“sense-making” investigation method is suggested. The method is described and several empirical studies are proposed.
The Effect of Pancreaticojejunostomy Technique on Fistula Formation Following Pancreaticoduodenectomy in the Soft Pancreas

A soft pancreas has been associated with an increased risk of post-operative pancreatic fistula formation. Few studies have evaluated the effect of anastomotic technique (duct to mucosa vs invagination) on fistula formation. This study aims to compare the effect of anastomotic technique on fistula formation among patients with a soft pancreas in a large multiinstitutional database. The targeted pancreas module of the American College of Surgeons–National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Database was used. All patients with a soft pancreas who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy from 2014 to 2015 were identified. Demographic data, comorbid conditions, operative variables, and 30-day outcomes were compared using univariate and multivariable analyses. A total of 975 patients met inclusion criteria. Eight-hundred fifty four (88%) underwent a duct to mucosa pancreaticojejunostomy technique and 121 (12%) underwent invagination. Patients who underwent invagination had higher 30-day mortality (5.8% vs 1.4%, p < 0.01), higher fistula formation (38% vs 25%, p < 0.01), and more often had percutaneous drain placement post-operatively (27% vs 14%, p < 0.01). Following multivariable analysis, invagination remained associated with pancreatic fistula formation (OR 2.5, CI 1.4–4.3) and post-operative percutaneous drain placement (OR 1.8, CI 1.1–2.9). Invagination technique for pancreaticojejunostomy in patients with a soft pancreas is associated with increased rates of pancreatic fistula. Surgeons should consider utilizing a duct to mucosa technique when feasible to decrease morbidity following pancreaticoduodenectomy in this patient population.
Movement of Solutes and Soil Salinity

Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall have lost its savour … it is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden underfoot.
Catfish lymphocytes expressing CC41-reactive leukocyte immune-type receptors (LITRs) proliferate in response to Edwardsiella ictaluri infection in vitro

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) CC34 and CC41 recognize overlapping subsets of leukocyte immune-type receptors (LITRs). The mAb CC34 was raised against the clonal TS32.15 cytotoxic T cell line and the mAb CC41 was raised against the clonal NK cell line TS10.1. In this study, an in vitro model was developed to monitor CC34- and CC41-reactive cells in response to Edwardsiella ictaluri infection. Briefly, head kidney leukocytes and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were isolated from individual catfish and labeled with CellTrace Violet and CellTrace FarRed dye, respectively. Head kidney-derived macrophages were infected with E. ictaluri and then cocultured with autologous PBL. The combined cell cultures were then analyzed using flow cytometry. A significant increase in CC41 staining was observed in the PBL population at 2, 5 and 7 days after culture, which suggest that LITRs are involved in cell-mediated immunity to E. ictaluri.
Age, physical activity motivation and perceived stress in minority girls

Background: Physical activity in childhood and adolescence helps support physical and emotional health. Purpose: The study aimed to investigate if age was related to motivation for physical activity in minority girls, and whether the relationship may be potentially mediated by psychological or physiological stress. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study recruited Latino and African American girls ages 8 – 12 years (n = 79) in Tanner stage 1 or 2 via purposive sampling. Intrinsic motivation and perceived stress were measured by self-report survey; morning salivary cortisol samples were taken to calculate cortisol awakening response to estimate biological stress reactivity. Results: Increased age was related to higher intrinsic motivation to engage in physical activity. Lower perceived stress and lower awakening cortisol response were associated with higher intrinsic motivation. Bootstrapped mediation results indicated perceived stress may be a pathway through which age impacts intrinsic motivation for physical activity. Conclusion: While motivation to engage in physical activity may increase with age, perceived stress may dampen this motivation, resulting in decreased physical activity. Interventions to help increase pre-adolescent girls’ engagement in active behaviors may benefit from reducing children’s perceptions of stress.
Assessment of viral RNA in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis using RNA-seq

Numerous publications suggest an association between herpes virus infection and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). These reports have employed immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and/or PCR, which are susceptible to specificity artifacts. We investigated the possible association between IPF and viral RNA expression using next-generation sequencing, which has the potential to provide a high degree of both sensitivity and specificity. We quantified viral RNA expression for 740 viruses in 28 IPF patient lung biopsy samples and 20 controls. Key RNA-seq results were confirmed using Real-time RT-PCR for select viruses (EBV, HCV, herpesvirus saimiri and HERV-K). We identified sporadic low-level evidence of viral infections in our lung tissue specimens, but did not find a statistical difference for expression of any virus, including EBV, herpesvirus saimiri and HERV-K, between IPF and control lungs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first publication that employs RNA-seq to assess whether viral infections are linked to the pathogenesis of IPF. Our results do not address the role of viral infection in acute exacerbations of IPF, however, this analysis patently did not support an association between herpes virus detection and IPF.
13 – Motion Geometry II

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses motion geometry for the definition of parallel lines. When lines are slide images of one another, the lines are called parallel lines. When no slide works, the lines are not parallel. When a pair of parallel lines is cut by a third line, it is a transversal. Any line that crosses two other lines, not necessarily parallel, is called a transversal. When two lines are cut by a transversal, a pair of angles in like positions with respect to the transversal are called corresponding angles. When the lines are parallel, corresponding angles are slide-congruent under a suitable slide along the transversal. The chapter illustrates alternate interior angles, alternate exterior angles, and perpendicularity. It presents a classification of triangles and quadrilaterals in terms of the numbers and kinds of symmetries. A quadrilateral is a four-sided figure. The chapter classifies quadrilaterals into eight types, according to their symmetries.
FedFMC: Sequential Efficient Federated Learning on Non-iid Data.

As a mechanism for devices to update a global model without sharing data, federated learning bridges the tension between the need for data and respect for privacy. However, classic FL methods like Federated Averaging struggle with non-iid data, a prevalent situation in the real world. Previous solutions are sub-optimal as they either employ a small shared global subset of data or greater number of models with increased communication costs. We propose FedFMC (Fork-Merge-Consolidate), a method that dynamically forks devices into updating different global models then merges and consolidates separate models into one. We first show the soundness of FedFMC on simple datasets, then run several experiments comparing against baseline approaches. These experiments show that FedFMC substantially improves upon earlier approaches to non-iid data in the federated learning context without using a globally shared subset of data nor increase communication costs.
Intensified burn severity in California’s northern coastal mountains by drier climatic condition

The severity of wildfire burns in interior lands of western US ecosystems has been increasing. However, less is known about its coastal mountain ecosystems, especially under extreme weather conditions, raising concerns about the vulnerability of these populated areas to catastrophic fires. Here we examine the fine-scale association between burn severity and a suite of environmental drivers including explicit fuel information, weather, climate, and topography, for diverse ecosystems in California's northern coastal mountains. Burn severity was quantified using Relative difference Normalized Burn Ratio from Landsat multispectral imagery during 1984-2017. We found a significant increasing trend in burned areas and severity. During low-precipitation years, areas that burned had much lower fuel moisture and higher climatic water deficit than in wetter years, but the percentage of high-severity areas doubled, especially during the most recent 2012-2016 drought. The Random Forest (RF) machine learning model achieved overall accuracy of 79% in classifying categories of burn severity. Aspect, slope, fuel type and availability, and temperature were the most important drivers, based on both classification and regression RF models. We further examined the importance of drivers under four climatic conditions: dry vs. wet years, and during two extended drought periods (the 2012-2016 warmer drought vs. the 1987-1992 drought). During warm and dry years, the spatial variability of burn severity was a mixed effect of slope, long-term minimum temperature, fuel amount, and fuel moisture. In contrast, climatic water deficit and short-term weather became dominant factors for fires during wetter years. These results suggest that relative importance of drivers for burn severity in the broader domain of California's northern coastal mountains varied with weather scenarios, especially when exacerbated by warm and extended drought. Our findings highlight the importance of targeting areas with high burn severity risk for fire adaptation and mitigation strategies in a changing climate and intensifying extremes.
Testing of High-Lift Common Research Model with Integrated Active Flow Control

A 10%-scale high-lift version of the Common Research Model and an active flow control (AFC) version of the model equipped with a simple-hinged flap were successfully tested. The main objective of t...
Simplified DOM Trees for Transferable Attribute Extraction from the Web.

There has been a steady need to precisely extract structured knowledge from the web (i.e. HTML documents). Given a web page, extracting a structured object along with various attributes of interest (e.g. price, publisher, author, and genre for a book) can facilitate a variety of downstream applications such as large-scale knowledge base construction, e-commerce product search, and personalized recommendation. Considering each web page is rendered from an HTML DOM tree, existing approaches formulate the problem as a DOM tree node tagging task. However, they either rely on computationally expensive visual feature engineering or are incapable of modeling the relationship among the tree nodes. In this paper, we propose a novel transferable method, Simplified DOM Trees for Attribute Extraction (SimpDOM), to tackle the problem by efficiently retrieving useful context for each node by leveraging the tree structure. We study two challenging experimental settings: (i) intra-vertical few-shot extraction, and (ii) cross-vertical fewshot extraction with out-of-domain knowledge, to evaluate our approach. Extensive experiments on the SWDE public dataset show that SimpDOM outperforms the state-of-the-art (SOTA) method by 1.44% on the F1 score. We also find that utilizing knowledge from a different vertical (cross-vertical extraction) is surprisingly useful and helps beat the SOTA by a further 1.37%.
Pneumococcal pneumonia

Pneumococcal pneumonia accounts for about one-sixth to two-thirds of all cases of community-acquired pneumonia. Its high frequency of occurrence worldwide and the high number of deaths associated with it—especially with bacteremic (invasive) disease—mark its importance. Invasive disease is associated with case-fatality rates of 15% to 25% among elderly adults. Penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) first appeared in the 1970s, and its increased incidence in the late 1980s signaled its emerging importance. In individual patients in whom PRSP infection is suspected, the clinician must follow guidelines for empiric antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia until microbiological test results are known. When a diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia is established, the clinician should change to a regimen that targets the pneumococcus. Adults at highest risk for death from pneumococcal pneumonia include immunocompetent persons with underlying chronic diseases, immunocompromised persons, elderly persons, and unvaccinated residents of nursing homes and other chronic care facilities. Safe and effective, polyvalent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine should be used in persons 2 years of age and older who are at increased risk for serious pneumococcal pneumonia and in all persons 65 years of age and older.
Sleep disturbance in children treated with ofloxacin.

Fluoroquinolones are not licensed for use in children but are the only drugs that act orally against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.1 They are therefore used widely in children with cystic fibrosis and pseudomonas infection. Their use has increased since the finding that treatment with oral ciprofloxacin and nebulised colistin can delay chronic carriage of pseudomonas when given after the organism is first isolated.2 This has become standard practice. This hospital's pharmacy recently changed the fluoroquinolone on its formulary from ciprofloxacin to ofloxacin. I report here severe sleep disturbance …
Sustaining Our Nation's Seniors through Federal Food and Nutrition Programs

Food insecurity is a pressing issue in the United States where one in six people suffer from hunger. The older adult population faces unique challenges to receiving adequate nutrition. The federal government currently employs four food and nutrition programs that target the senior population in an effort to address their specific needs. These are the Congregate Meals and Home Delivered Meals Programs (provided through the Older Americans Act), and the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program (provided by the United States Department of Agriculture). As the older adult population continues to grow, it will be important to evaluate and improve these programs and the social policies related to them. This manuscript describes each policy in depth, considers economic and political elements that have shaped each policy, describes the level of program success, and offers suggestions for future research and program development.
Effect of Different Incubation Conditions on Phosphatidylserine Externalization and Motion Parameters of Purified Fractions of Highly Motile Human Spermatozoa

The objective of this study was to assess the temporal effects of sperm incubation at body temperature with various amounts of human serum albumin (HSA) on motion parameters and phosphatidylserine externalization, an expression of membrane integrity. Purified sperm populations were prepared by discontinuous gradient separation, incubated at 37 degrees C in 3 different culture conditions (human tubal fluid [HTF] alone, HTF plus 0.3% HSA, and HTF plus 3% HSA) and evaluated at 0, 1, 3, 6, and 24 hours. Annexin V binding was used to monitor membrane translocation of phosphatidylserine and a computer-assisted semen analyzer was used to evaluate motion parameters. All incubation conditions led to a time-dependent, significant decline in sperm motion parameters and an increase in exposure of phosphatidylserine (annexin V+, live cells) to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane in both patients and donors. Patients had a higher degree of motility loss and externalization of phosphatidylserine than donors. The decline in the percentage of normal cells (annexin V-, live) was greater in HTF alone up to 6 hours, and the decline in the percentages of motile and rapid sperm were greater in HTF alone throughout 24 hours when compared with HSA supplementation. We conclude that prolonged incubation of purified populations of highly motile human spermatozoa at body temperature was associated with significant motility loss and membrane changes as revealed by phosphatidylserine translocation. A higher concentration of HSA resulted in a relative protective effect against such impairments, particularly during the first 6 hours of incubation. Under the experimental conditions tested, significant differences were observed between infertile men and fertile controls.
Multiple-page translation for TLB

Traditional approaches for increasing TLB hit ratios include using more TLB entries and/or bigger page sizes. These techniques are often subject to significant costs in implementations. We illustrate techniques for improving TLB efficiency with less expensive hardware. The basic idea is to allow multiple pages translated upon each invocation of translation through page table. The proposal can improve TLB hit ratios with reasonable amount of hardware while transparent to the software. Trade-offs in using multiple page translations are illustrated through simulation results. >
Virulence of Escherichia coli Serotypes for Mice

A study was undertaken to determine whether virulence in mice could be used to assess the pathogenicity of a variety of Escherichia coli serotypes. Sixty-one E. coli strains isolated from animals, poultry, or humans were serotyped to determine their O, K, and H antigens, and were administered to mice via the intraperitoneal route with and without a mucin adjuvant. The ld(50) dose was then determined for each serotype. The results indicated that the source of the serotype may be associated with virulence for mice. Serotypes isolated from nonenteric, systemic sources showed a greater virulence for mice inoculated intraperitoneally than did the enteric and the nonenteric, nonsystemic (localized) isolates. It was observed that not all serotypes belonging to a specific serogroup were virulent for mice and that the presence or absence of a K antigen had no effect on the virulence of strains of one serotype.
Creative achievement and psychopathology: comparison among professions.

This study was designed to determine (1) whether members of the 8 "creative arts" professions (i.e., architects, artists, musicians, composers, actors/directors, essayists, fiction writers, and poets) display greater rates of psychopathology than members of other professions, and (2) whether a significant relationship exists between creative achievement and mental disturbance. The final study sample (n = 1,005), constituting 18 separate professions, consisted of all appropriate individuals whose biographies were reviewed in the New York Times Book Review over a 30-year period (1960 to 1990). The results, in their entirety, suggest (a) that different patterns of psychopathology, if any, tend to be associated with different professions and at different periods in individuals' lives, (b) that different professions are associated with different levels of creative achievement, and (c) that certain types of psychopathology are associated with creative achievement across all professions.
Urinary Retention Due to Ritual Circumcision

The rare complication of urethral obstruction due to ritual circumcision (brit melah) so aptly described by Frand et al. is more often seen in Israel in general practice than in hospital practice. During a four-year period in the pediatric department of the same hospital no such complications were seen but, subsequently, in 1968 while working in part-time pediatric practice, I saw two such cases. The signs and symptoms were similar to those described, but very striking and worrisome to the parents was the fact that no urination had occurred since the time of the circumcision.
Constraints on cosmic dynamics

Observationally, the universe appears virtually critical. Yet, there is no simple explanation for this state. In this article we advance and explore the premise that the dynamics of the universe always seeks equilibrium conditions. Vacuum-induced cosmic accelerations lead to creation of matter-energy modes at the expense of vacuum energy. Because they gravitate, such modes constitute inertia against cosmic acceleration. On the other extreme, the would-be ultimate phase of local gravitational collapse is checked by a phase transition in the collapsing matter fields leading to a de Sitter-like fluid deep inside the black hole horizon, and at the expense of the collapsing matter fields. As a result, the universe succumbs to neither vacuum-induced run-away accelerations nor to gravitationally induced spacetime curvature singularities. Cosmic dynamics is self-regulating. We discuss the physical basis for these constraints and the implications, pointing out how the framework relates and helps resolve standing puzzles such as "why did cosmic inflation end?", "why is Lambda small now?" and "why does the universe appear persistently critical?". The approach does, on the one hand, suggest a future course for cosmic dynamics, while on the other hand it provides some insight into the physics inside black hole horizons. The interplay between the background vacuum and matter fields suggests an underlying symmetry that links spacetime acceleration with spacetime collapse and global (cosmic) dynamics with local (black hole) dynamics.
Field-Reversed Configurations

A description is given of a steady-state FRC reactor driven by Rotating Magnetic Fields (RMF), and compared with present FRC status. A new experiment, TCS (Translation, Sustainment, & Confinement) is described which will test the principal of RMF flux build-up and sustainment of FRCs. It is shown that very attractive reactors can be envisioned if this sustainment scheme is successful.
A High Signal-to-Noise Oscillator for Contactless Measurement of Photoinduced Carrier Lifetimes

A wide-band apparatus for contactless measurement of small changes in photoinduced carrier population is described. Since for some phenomena the signals of interest have very low amplitude, and since the generator supplying energy for the measurement is an oscillator loosely coupled electromagnetically to the semiconductor, very-low-noise circuitry is required. Further, sensitivity to minute conductivity changes is enhanced when the oscillation amplitude is made directly proportional to the figure of merit, Q, of the coupled oscillator resonant parallel inductance-capacitance (LC) tank. The circuit to approximate the desired dependence, amplitude = kQ, contains only two field-effect transistors and is basically an oscillator supplied by a constant current rather than by a constant voltage source. Its operation is analyzed via modeling that specifies the output signal as a function of device and circuit parameters; excellent correspondence with empirical data is shown. The oscillator also operates as an infinite impedance detector of its own amplitude; this amplitude is shown to be linearly dependent on carrier concentration over significant ranges. Thus, the oscillator steady-state and transient responses may be directly related to wafer conductivity, induced carrier amplitude, and lifetime. The described apparatus is sensitive to carrier concentration changes of less than 10 1 1 electrons or holes per cubic centimetre of silicon and will provide measurement of lifetimes from a microsecond to several seconds.
Small and Closed vs. Large and Open: Some Lessons from Comparing Cuban to Colombian Agricultural Development

Comparing the experiences of selected Latin America and the Caribbean countries and their trajectories over the past 15 years offers rich insights into the dynamics and causes for not meeting the 2015 MDGs. They also offer clues for post-MDG strategies. Central to achieving sustainable growth are government policies able to support small and medium-sized farms and peasants, as they are crucial for the achievement of several goals, centrally: to achieve food security; to provide a sound and stable rural environment able to resist external (financial) shocks; to secure healthy food; to secure local food; and to protect vibrant and culturally rich local communities. This paper analyses and compares the most successful government policies to the least successful policies carried out over the last 15 years in selected Latin American and Caribbean countries and based on this analysis, offers strategies for more promising post-MDG politics, able to reduce poverty, reduce inequality, fight back informality, and achieve more decent work in poor countries. Keywords: development, agriculture, food sovereignty, agroecology Data of the article First received: 16 September 2014 | Last revision received: 10 January 2015 Accepted: 02 January 2015 | Published online: 12 March 2015 urn:nbn:de:hebis:34-2014082545914
Defenses to Automobile Theft & How to Defeat Those Defenses

This six-page CLE (continuing legal education) brochure is titled “Defenses to Automobile Theft & How to Defeat Those Defenses.” It was presented to the Regional Auto Theft Team Impact Training in 2009. Topics include (1) statutory defenses of (a) good faith claim of right, (b) honest belief of right to exert control, and (c) property of Defendant’s spouse; and (2) common law defenses of (a) voluntary intoxication, (b) mistake of fact, (c) alibi, (d) duress, and (e) defense of property.
Quantile benchmark dose estimation for continuous endpoints

Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) characterizes the risk of an adverse health outcome for an organism exposed to a chemical, environmental, physical, or other hazard. Historically, QRAs define risk based upon the increased probability of adverse response because of exposure when compared with the background probability of response in unexposed individuals. For a specified risk level, the exposure–response relationship is inverted to find an exposure (or dose) for minimizing risk; these exposures are often called the benchmark dose (BMD). For continuous endpoints, BMD analyses have employed strong assumptions on the form of the response distribution which may not be met for most toxicology data sets. We propose a reformulation of the BMD for use in QRA for continuous response that is based upon milder assumptions using quantile regression and monotone smoothing splines. This method takes into account the uncertainty in the response distribution as well as uncertainty in the exposure–response relationship. We apply this method to a data example and show through a simulation study that the approach is often superior to current practice. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Examining the Measurement Invariance of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form Internalizing Specific Problem Scales in African- American and Caucasian Men

EXAMINING THE MEASUREMENT INVARIANCE OF THE MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY-2-RESTRUCTURED FORM INTERNALIZING SPECIFIC PROBLEM SCALES IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND CAUCASIAN MEN Megan Anne Brokenbourgh Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, 2015 Director: Dr. Richard W. Handel Test bias has long been an area of investigation in the personality assessment literature, including the MMPI-2-RF. Research on previous versions of the MMPI and MMPI-2-RF has pointed to mixed results. The current study aims to examine test bias on the MMPI-2-RF’s nine Internalizing Specific Problem Scales by examining measurement invariance using MIMIC modeling and investigating differential item functioning (DIF). After removal of invalid protocols, the first sample consisted of 2,980 protocols from various settings requested from Pearson (255 African American and 2,755 Caucasian protocols). The second sample consisted of 1,379 valid protocols from psychiatric inpatient settings (1,245 Caucasian and 133 African American protocols). MIMIC modeling was conducted using delta parametrization and the WLSMV estimator in Mplus (Muthen and Muthen, 1998-2012). Latent continuous response variables and threshold estimates were used to accommodate categorical indicators. Results of the MIMIC modeling pointed to latent mean differences in four of the nine and two of the nine scales in the Pearson and inpatient samples, respectively. In both samples, latent mean differences were found between African Americans and Caucasians on the Multiple Specific Fears scale. Evidence of DIF was seen in seven of the nine scales in both the Pearson and inpatient samples. However, only a total of four items were found to functioning differently on the Inefficacy and Multiple Specific Fears scales across both samples. These results have implications for the MMPI-2-RF’s invariance across African American and Caucasian test takers and overall psychological assessment standards involving fairness in testing.