cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Power Flow Control for a Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle

This paper presents an approach to control power train of series hybrid electric vehicles. A formulation of the system equations and controller design procedure are proposed. A new switching algorithm for the power converter is proposed for motor torque and motor flux control. The sliding mode method is applied to excitation winding control in the synchronous generator to achieve the desired current distribution in power-train. Unlike a conventional vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) has more than one on-board power source, resulting in several economic and environmental advantages over a conventional vehicle. Other than the advantage of fuel economy and emission reduction, a hybrid electric vehicle can regenerate energy from braking, and also allows for the use of electrically powered accessories and auxiliary loads. While there exist many HEV configurations, the two fundamental architectures are parallel and series (1). In a parallel HEV, power is summed at a mechanical junction, while in a series HEV power is summed at an electrical node. In this paper we discuss the power-train control of series HEV, including motor torque, motor flux, capacitor current and generator current control. Since different power sources are connected electrically, power electronics play an important role in the control of series HEV. In our methodology, the power converter not only function as AC/DC or DC/AC converter, but it also used to perform flux control and torque control for an induction machine.
Spiral Magnetic Resonance Coronary Angiography With Rapid Real-Time Localization

A spiral high-resolution coronary artery imaging sequence (SH) interfaced with real-time localization system (RT) has been developed. A clinical study of 40 patients suspected of coronary artery disease (CAD) was conducted. Segmented k-space acquisition techniques have dominated magnetic resonance coronary angiography (MRCA) over the last decade. Although a recent multicenter trial using this technique demonstrated encouraging results, the technique was hampered by low specificity. Spiral k-space acquisition had demonstrated several advantages for MRCA. Therefore, a first clinical trial implementing spiral high-resolution coronary imaging sequence with real-time localization (SH-RT) was performed.A clinical study of 40 patients suspected of CAD undergoing X-ray angiography was conducted to analyze the clinical reliability of this novel imaging system. The SH-RT had been designed to exploit the unique capability of two imaging sequences. The RT allowed a rapid localization of the coronary arteries. Then SH achieved multislice acquisition during a short breath-hold with submillimeter resolution. The MRCA data were analyzed for scan time, anatomic coverage, image quality, and accuracy in detecting CAD. In 40 subjects, SH achieved 0.7 to 0.9 mm resolution with 14-heartbeat breath-holds. Excellent or good image quality was achieved in 78% (263/337) of the coronary segments. Blinded consensus reading among three observers generated sensitivity of 76% and specificity of 91% in the detection of CAD compared with X-ray angiography. The MRCA imaging sequence implementing a novel spiral k-space acquisition technique enabled rapid and reliable imaging of the CAD in submillimeter resolution with short breath-holds.
The Insignificance of Proxy Access

The SEC recently adopted rules on proxy access. These rules grant shareholders who hold at least 3% of the company stock for three years the right to nominate directors and to have their nominees included in the company’s proxy statement. Because proxy access is viewed as dramatically lowering the costs of an election contest, both proponents and opponents of these rules predict that they will have a significant impact. Contrary to this conventional wisdom, we argue that proxy access will lead to few shareholder nominations, that most of these nominees will be defeated, and that the occasional nominee who does get elected will have little impact. Based on past involvement in shareholder activism, we believe that neither mutual funds nor private pension funds will make significant use of proxy access. Certain large public pension funds have shown a modest interest in activism and may make some nominations. The entities with the greatest interests in activism -- hedge funds and union-affiliated funds -- will generally not satisfy the ownership and holding period requirements. When compared to traditional proxy contests and to withhold campaigns, proxy access involves significant disadvantages, while promising only modest advantages. The cost savings of proxy access compared to traditional contests are overstated because most proxy contests expenses are discretionary campaign expenses or relate to other expense items that are unaffected by the proxy access rule. By contrast, the limitations that come with proxy access are significant: the number of nominees a shareholder can propose is limited; the level of shareholder support required to gain a seat, as a practical matter, is increased; the company retains control over the design of the proxy cards; and the company retains exclusive access to preliminary voting information. When compared to withhold-vote campaigns, the more certain effect on board makeup and governance from a successful proxy access campaign must be weighed against countervailing factors that reduce the likelihood of success: the higher level of shareholder support required for success; the greater challenge of positive versus negative campaigning; and the vulnerability of the dissident shareholders and their nominees to attacks by the company for lack of qualification or conflicts of interest. Such attacks will resonate especially for nominees by unions and public pension funds. Their inability or unwillingness to defend against such attacks without incurring significant expense may make it difficult to find qualified nominees. Overall, we believe that proxy access will have some undesirable effects – it will result in some increase in company expenses and may, rarely, increase the leverage of shareholders whose interest conflict with those of shareholders at large – and some desirable ones -- it may occasionally lead to the election of nominees at recalcitrant boards, where such nominees may have a modest impact on governance and a marginal impact on company value. None of these effects is likely to be very material, and the net effect is likely to be close to zero.
Behavior Analysis: The Discipline Its Followers Don't Want. A Reaction to Grote, Johnston, Rakos, and Wulfert

The previous issue of this journal included my article entitled “An Academic Home for a Natural Science,” followed by the critical reactions of four prominent authors. In this article I respond to a number of the issues that they raised and futurher explicate my thesis.
Electrocardiography in Pericarditis and ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Timing of Observation Is Critical

especially as in-dicated in the number of leads that showed PR deviation inpatients with pericarditis. The mean PR and ST deviationswere noted in only 3 and 6 leads, respectively, in patientswith pericarditis, which may be related to the late mean timeof observation in their study. Of note, PR-segment deviationis the earliest marker of pericarditis and most sensitive in theﬁrst 12 hours from the pain onset (the mean time of ob-servation in the current study was >36 hours).
Abstract 91: Alteration of Myocardial GRK2 Produces a Global Metabolic Phenotype.

A vast body of literature has established GRK2 as a key player in the development and progression of heart failure. GRK2 levels increase in the heart post injury in an attempt to normalize sympathetic overdrive. While initially beneficial, this response becomes maladaptive. Inhibition of GRK2 improves cardiac function post injury in numerous animal models. Recently, discovery of several non-canonical GRK2 targets has expanded our view of this kinase. Amongst these, our lab has identified GRK2 as a negative regulator of cardiac insulin signaling and this is through direct interaction and phosphorylation of the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS1). While continuing to study cardiac metabolic aspects of GRK2 manipulation we have uncovered the novel and exciting finding that cardiac GRK2 activity can regulate whole body metabolism. We found that transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of GRK2 (Tg-GRK2) show resistance to high fat diet (HFD) induced obesity. In contrast, Tg-βARKct mice with cardiac-specific expression of a peptide inhibitor of GRK2, known as the βARKct display an enhanced obesogenic phenotype when fed a HFD. We placed transgenic mice (and their non-transgenic littermate controls) on a high fat diet (60% kcal% fat) or a control diet (10% kcal% fat) for up to 16 weeks. Mice were housed in grouped cages at room temperature (18-22°C). HFD feeding increased white adipose mass in Tg-BARKct mice vs. NLC, whereas adipose mass in Tg-GRK2 mice is lower than NLC animals. Moreover, HFD Tg-βARKct mice exhibit elevated serum leptin levels relative to NLC, indicating development of leptin resistance. The novelty of this finding could bear great clinical significance, not least because these cardiac specific transgenes elicit a global metabolic phenotype implicating the heart as an endocrine organ and GRK2 activity is essential for this new and unexpected finding.
The Architecture of the Spewy Louie Jr. Poker Bot

A short discussion of the Spewy Louie Jr. No-Limit and Limit Texas Hold’em poker bot is presented. The hand clustering algorithm and the non-traditional game tree data- structure used are discussed in detail.
Quantitative assessment of cell block cellularity and correlation with molecular testing adequacy in lung cancer.

Introduction Determination of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) material adequacy is essential prior to performing molecular testing (MT) in order to ensure good results and maximize resources. This study investigates several quantitative measures of cellularity in FNA samples of lung carcinoma, and correlates the results with MT adequacy. Materials and methods A blinded retrospective analysis of 20 non-small-cell lung carcinoma cases was conducted: 13 contained “sufficient” material for EGFR/KRAS sequencing and ALK FISH studies; and 7 contained “insufficient” material for these tests. Three 400x fields-of-view (FOVs) were analyzed from digitized cell block glass slides of these cases. Cellularity in these FOVs was quantified using three methods: (1) visual estimation by cytopathologist; (2) manually annotated contours (MACs); (3) software derived, manually adjusted contours (SDMACs) using a custom segmentation script with adjustable parameters. These methods were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, paired t test, and receiver operating characteristic/area under the curve (AUC) analysis. Results There were significant differences between the insufficient/sufficient groups for each estimation method (visual P P P Conclusion Quantitative analysis of cellularity in digitized cell block material is feasible using different methods. In this investigation, the SDMAC method provided the highest accuracy and lowest variability. This supports image analysis as an objective and quantitative tool to assess FNA sample adequacy for guiding supplemental MT.
Common Sense Reasoning for Detection, Prevention, and Mitigation of Cyberbullying (Extended Abstract)

We present an approach for cyberbullying detection based on state-of-the-art text classification and a common sense knowledge base, which permits recognition over a broad spectrum of topics in everyday life. We analyze a more narrow range of particular subject matter associated with bullying and construct BullySpace, a common sense knowledge base that encodes particular knowledge about bullying situations. We then perform joint reasoning with common sense knowledge about a wide range of everyday life topics. We analyze messages using our novel AnalogySpace common sense reasoning technique. We also take into account social network analysis and other factors. We evaluate the model on real-world instances that have been reported by users on Formspring, a social networking website that is popular with teenagers. On the intervention side, we explore a set of reflective userinteraction paradigms with the goal of promoting empathy among social network participants. We propose an air traffic control-like dashboard, which alerts moderators to large-scale outbreaks that appear to be escalating or spreading and helps them prioritize the current deluge of user complaints. For potential victims, we provide educational material that informs them about how to cope with the situation, and connects them with emotional support from others. A user evaluation shows that incontext, targeted, and dynamic help during cyberbullying situations fosters end-user reflection that promotes better coping strategies.
Studies on the Nature of the Circulating Anticoagulant Directed against Antihemophilic Factor: With Notes on an Assay for Antihemophilic Factor

Modification of the kaolin clotting time has produced a reliable, simple assay system for antihemophilic factor. This system has been utilized for an investigation of the nature and mode of action of the circulating anticoagulant directed against antihemophilic factor. The anticoagulant has been shown to be present in equal amounts in plasma and serum, to be associated with fractions II and III of plasma prepared by the method of Cohn, to be relatively heat stable and to be stable for prolonged periods at -20 C. Investigation of the kinetics of the anticoagulant-antihemophilic reaction has demonstrated its temperature, time, pH, and substrate concentration dependency. The anticoagulant is not inactivated during the reaction with antihemophilic factor, and there is a proportional relationship between the anticoagulant and the antihemophilic factor during their interaction. No antigen-antibody manifestations could be detected during the anticoagulant-antihemophilic factor reaction. These characteristics support the hypothesis that the inactivation of antihemophilic factor by specific circulating anticoagulants is enzymatic.
Globalization: The Changing Views Of American College Students (2007 2010)

The attitudes of college students toward globalization and outsourcing are an important indicator of future leaders positions. Surveys conducted over the last four years provide an insight into the current situation and changes in attitudes over time. Today, there is a great deal (over 50%) of concern among college students about the positive value of globalization and support for laws to outlaw outsourcing. This is a reflection of the current economic situation and might change. With a large (82%) percentage of students still believing that the U.S. should embrace globalization, the future situation is yet to be determined.
Students’ Affective Learning in a Technologically Mediated Writing and Speaking Course A Situated Learning Perspective

Situated learning theory postulates that the environment in which learning occurs is foundational to understanding the outcomes of that learning. Taking classes in a nontraditional classroom, therefore, might have a noticeable effect on learning outcomes. This study examines three structures of the same general education course to understand the potential impact of mediated learning on students’ public speaking and writing apprehension and self-efficacy. Although situated learning theory suggests that the three structures (face-to-face, partially face-to-face, and fully online) should demonstrate differences, the results of this study are mixed, suggesting a complicated picture for situated learning’s ability to speak to differences based on technology use while highlighting the differences in how such technology might affect oral skills versus written skills. The application of situated learning principles to technologically mediated courses demonstrates the need to consider the interplay between environ...
Experimental evidence of the effects of an early intervention programme on economics student achievement

Early Intervention programmes are used in various ways in higher education in an attempt to identify struggling students at an early point in their coursework and to enable improvement in student outcomes. Despite being an increasingly common policy measure that is relatively easy to implement, little empirical evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of such programmes. Based on a study design that randomly assigns treatment eligibility across economics classes, we find that those who were reported for Early Intervention received final grades that were on average almost 4.3% higher than those who were not. The estimated effect of the programme on grade improvement, however, is smaller and not statistically significant. Some evidence exists for heterogeneous treatment effects, most notably the higher estimated effect for students in introductory classes.
Proof without Words: Diophantus of Alexandria's “Sum of Squares” Identity

We wordlessly prove (a2 + b2) (c2 + d2) = (ac ± bd)2 + (ad ∓ bc)2 using the Pythagorean theorem.
Teaching to Think in Software Terms: An Interdisciplinary Graduate Software Requirement Engineering Course for AEC Students

Software is no longer developed and discussed only by computer science majors. Software development and engineering is a professional concentration area in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) fields, among many others. Graduates of AEC related fields, who are motivated by problems which can be addressed better with computation or with better computation, often return to school to pursue graduate studies devoted to understanding computation of the professional problems they encounter. These students understand discipline specific issues in their fields well. However, in contrast to computer science majors, they lack techniques that can help them formulate solutions in software engineering terms. Asking such students to take classes from computer science curricula fosters interdisciplinary thinking; however, this practice fails to address the specialized computational needs of the AEC fields. An in depth understanding of how to use software development as a problem analysis approach can provide AEC students, both in the graduate and undergraduate levels, with problem classification techniques that they need. Here, we will describe our experience in introducing graduate AEC students to software requirement elicitation and development process techniques.
Inhibitory Action of Lactic Acid on Certain Bacteria and Fungi

In his instructions for the cultivation of fungi and especially the isolation of pure strains, Duggar1 recommends the use of lactic acid in the culture mediums. He claims that, in general, 0.5% of lactic acid is sufficient to prevent the growth of contaminating bacteria. As there is little or no available information concerning the inhibitory effects of lactic acid on any great variety of bacteria, although there is as to a few special forms, this work was undertaken with a view of determining the effect on common bacteria and certain fungi. Apart from its bearing on methods of cultivation, there is possibly a more important relation between bacteria and lactic acid. Under pathologic conditions lactic acid is the most widely distributed and abundant acid in the body. It is found in the tissues, in the secretions of the stomach, in abscesses, and in various fluids of the body. It is asserted by Fischer that an increased production of acids in the tissues is responsible, to a large degree, for the occurrence of edema. Therefore, since lactic acid is so commonly found in the body, it would seem that the action of this acid on bacteria might be a truer test of the tolerance of bacteria toward acid, that is toward the effect of the hydrogen-ion, than would be that of an inorganic acid like hydrochloric, as we are more nearly approximating common pathologic conditions found in the body. The method employed in these preliminary experiments was as follows :
Prevalence and predictors of bullying behavior among overweight and obese youth in a nationally representative sample

Abstract Background: Child and adolescent overweight and obesity are independent risk factors for poor social outcomes. Whether children who are overweight display greater bullying behaviors than normal weight peers, controlling for demographic and other social-ecological factors, was examined. The influence of child (e.g., mental health), family (e.g., income, parent mental health, and exposure to domestic violence), and community (e.g., exposure to neighborhood violence, unfair treatment based on race or ethnic group) factors on bullying risk in the subset of children who are overweight and obese was explored. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children's Health, a cross-sectional study providing a nationally representative sample of participants, using a series of multinomial logistic regressions in Mplus software (Muthen & Muthen, Los Angeles, CA). Participants were 41,361 youth ages 10–17 years. Results: Despite statistically significant differences in...
Key points on Hybrid indica rice seed breeding

To review the course on hybrid indica rice seed breeding,some sterility lines,which are examined and approved since 2000,are compared to analyze the characteristics of newly bred hybrid rice combinations and indicate its direction in seed breeding.
Solution of Inverse Problems in Biomechanical Imaging

In this set of notes we consider inverse problems in biomechanical imaging. We briefly describe the clinical relevance of these problems and how the measured data is acquired. We focus on two distinct strategies for solving these problems. These include a direct approach that is fast but relies on the availability of complete interior displacement measurements. The other is an iterative approach that is computationally intensive but is able to handle incomplete interior data and is robust to noise. We present some recent results obtained using these approaches and also comment on future directions of research.
Fitness function changes to improve performance in a GA used for multi-UAV tasking

Various methods have been utilized for the cooperative tasking of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with the genetic algorithm (GA) being a technique that has proven to be versatile and effective for this use. The design and implementation of a GA is both an art and a science that brings together creativity, theoretical foundations and engineering. The focus of this paper is to show how the fitness function for a GA has been improved to meet variable mission constraints and also improve performance of the system designed to provide support for a ground station to fly cooperative missions with teams of small UAVs.
Application of the Scalable Communications Core as an SDR Baseband

Today’s consumers expect the connectivity of data anywhere and at anytime, i.e., voice and media for their smartphones, notebooks, and tablets. They also aspire that their wireless devices be small with a long battery time and life. To meet the first requirement, a smartphone must support a large number of radio standards; this has motivated the development of Flexible Radios that efficiently support a wide range of wireless communication standards. In this context, adaptive radios modify their performance based on the environment. The Cognitive Radios sense the RF environment to use available spectrum and standards. A key enabling technology for each of these types of radios is Software Defined Radios (SDR) that support numerous current and future standards, share resources between different radio threads, and dynamically add new radio threads to an operational radio. The SDR architecture must also be both area- and energy-efficient. One example of an efficient and flexible baseband architecture is the Scalable Communications Core (SCC), which was developed by Intel Labs and meets many of the requirements for an SDR baseband, including programmability, resource sharing, and efficient scheduling of radio threads. Consisting of a heterogeneous set of coarse-grained, programmable accelerators connected via a packet-based Network-on-Chip (NoC), the resulting architecture is energy- and area-efficient. We taped out a prototype SCC test chip in a 65 nm CMOS process, programmed and validated it for multiple protocols, including WiFi, WiMAX, GPS, Bluetooth, and DVB-H and found that its measured energy and area efficiency were competitive with other flexible baseband architectures.
Bone robusticity in two distinct skeletal dysplasias diverges from established patterns

Achondroplasia (ACH) is a heritable disorder of endochondral bone formation characterized by disproportionate short stature. Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heritable bone and connective tissue disorder characterized by bone fragility. To investigate bone morphology of these groups, we retrospectively reviewed 169 de-identified bone age films from 20 individuals with ACH, 39 individuals with OI and 37 age- and sex-matched controls (matched to historical measurements from the Bolton–Brush Collection). We calculated robustness (Tt.Ar/Le) and relative cortical area (Ct.Ar/Tt.Ar) from measurements of the second metacarpal, which reflect overall bone health. Relative cortical area (RCA) is a significant predictor of fracture risk and correlates with robustness at other sites. Individuals with OI had RCH values above and robustness values below that of the control population. Bisphosphonate treatment did not significantly impact either robustness or RCA. In contrast to that reported in the unaffected population, there was no sexual dimorphism found in OI robustness or relative cortical area. We suggest that the underlying collagen abnormalities in OI override sex-specific effects. Individuals with ACH had robustness values above and RCA values below that of the control population. Sexual dimorphism was found in ACH robustness and RCH values. Clinical significance: Identifies morphologic trends in two distinct skeletal dysplasia populations (OI and ACH) to better understand development of bone robusticity and slenderness in humans. Understanding these patterns of bone morphology is important to predict how individuals will respond to treatment and to increase treatment effect. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:2392–2396, 2017.
State of the art of GnRH - based timed AI in beef cattle

Based upon observations across a series of experiments that pregnancy rate to timed-AI was positively related to length of proestrus, the traditional 7-day CO-Synch + CIDR program was modified to allow an increased interval from PGF/CIDR removal to GnRH/timed-AI; resulting in the 5-day CO-Synch + CIDR program. This modification has been demonstrated to increase timed-AI pregnancy rates relative to the traditional approach. The impact of this modification on preovulatory estradiol concentrations, as a result of extending the period of gonadotropic stimulus provided to the follicle, initiation of proestrus at a time when ovulatory follicles are highly estrogenic and/or through reduction in the incidence of ovulation of very young follicles, are potential mechanisms for increased estradiol concentrations and enhanced fertility. Conversely, for females in these estrous control programs in which follicular growth is adequately controlled, differences in age of the ovulatory follicle may not be a significant contributor to variation in timed-AI pregnancy rate.
Development of a micro-neutralization assay for ebolaviruses using a replication-competent vesicular stomatitis hybrid virus and a quantitative PCR readout

Development of vaccines against highly pathogenic viruses that could also be used as agents of bioterrorism is both a public health issue and a national security priority. Methods that can quantify neutralizing antibodies will likely be crucial in demonstrating vaccine effectiveness, as most licensed viral vaccines are effective due to their capacity to elicit neutralizing antibodies. Assays to determine whether antibodies are neutralizing traditionally involve infectious virus, and the assay most commonly used is the plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT). However, when the virus is highly pathogenic, this assay must be done under the appropriate level of containment; for tier one select agents, such as Ebola virus (EBOV), it is performed under Biological Safety Level 4 (BSL-4) conditions. Developing high-throughput neutralization assays for these viruses that can be done in standard BSL-2 laboratories should facilitate vaccine development. Our approach is to use a replication-competent hybrid virus whose genome carries the envelope gene from the pathogenic virus on the genetic backbone of a non-pathogenic virus, such as vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). We have generated hybrid VSVs carrying the envelope genes for several species of ebolavirus. The readout for infectivity is a one-step reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), an approach that we have used for other viruses that allows robustness and adaptability to automation. Using this method, we have shown that neutralization can be assessed within 6-16h after infection. Importantly, the titers obtained in our assay with two characterized antibodies were in agreement with titers obtained in other assays. Finally, although in this paper we describe the VSV platform to quantify neutralizing antibodies to ebolaviruses, the platform should be directly applicable to any virus whose envelope is compatible with VSV biology.
Human and monkey responses in a symmetric game of conflict with asymmetric equilibria

Abstract To better understand the evolutionary history of human decision-making, we compare human behavior to that of two monkey species in a symmetric game of conflict with two asymmetric equilibria. While all of these species routinely make decisions in the context of social cooperation and competition, they have different socio-ecologies, which leads to different predictions about how they will respond. Our prediction was that anti-matching would be more difficult than matching in a symmetric coordination with simultaneous moves. To our surprise, not only do rhesus macaques frequently play one asymmetric Nash equilibrium, but so do capuchin monkeys, whose play in the coordination game was literally not distinguishable from randomness (in simultaneous play). Humans are the only species to play both asymmetric equilibria in a repeated game.
Gaitas, panderos y tambores. La nueva música gallega y una identidad glocalizada / Bagpipes, tambourines and drums. New Galician Music and a Glocalized Identity

Resumen: La musica gallega ha jugado un papel importante en la interpretacion de la identidad gallega. En las ultimas decadas, los nuevos movimientos musicales y algunas propuestas de relectura del floklore gallego en relacion con otras tradiciones musicales ha abierto las puertas a una redifinicion de la ‘galleguidad’ desde una perspectiva glocalizada, que incorpora tanto elementos tradicionalmente asociados a lo gallego como dispositivos y estilos propios de otras tradiciones. Palabras clave: Identidad, Galicia, Musica, Glocalizacion. Abstract: Galician music has played an important role in the interpretation of Galician identity. In the last decades, the new musical movements and some proposals of rereading of the Galician floklore in relation to other musical traditions have opened the doors to a redefinition of the ‘Galleguidad’ from a glocalizated perspective, that incorporates both elements traditionally associated to the Galician indentity and some other cultural styles and traditions. Key words: Identity, Galicia, Music, Clocalization.
Obtaining waivers of parental consent: A strategy endorsed by gay, bisexual, and queer adolescent males for health prevention research.

Abstract Background Requiring parental consent in studies with sexual minority youth (SMY) can sometimes be problematic as participants may have yet to disclose their sexual orientation, may not feel comfortable asking parents' permission, and may promote a self-selection bias. Purpose We discuss rationale for waiving parental consent, strategies to secure waivers from review boards, and present participants' feedback on research without parents' permission. Methods We share our institutional review board proposal in which we made a case that excluding SMY from research violates ethical research principles, does not recognize their autonomy, and limits collection of sexuality data. Discussion Standard consent policies may inadvertently exclude youth who are at high risk for negative health outcomes or may potentially put them at risk because of forced disclosure of sexual orientation. Securing a waiver addresses these concerns and allows for rich data, which is critical for providers to have a deeper understanding of their unique sexual health needs. Conclusion To properly safeguard and encourage research informed by SMY, parental consent waivers may be necessary.
Sterol Oxidation Mediates Stress-Responsive Vms1 Translocation to Mitochondria.

Vms1 translocates to damaged mitochondria in response to stress, whereupon its binding partner, Cdc48, contributes to mitochondrial protein homeostasis. Mitochondrial targeting of Vms1 is mediated by its conserved mitochondrial targeting domain (MTD), which, in unstressed conditions, is inhibited by intramolecular binding to the Vms1 leucine-rich sequence (LRS). Here, we report a 2.7 A crystal structure of Vms1 that reveals that the LRS lies in a hydrophobic groove in the autoinhibited MTD. We also demonstrate that the oxidized sterol, ergosterol peroxide, is necessary and sufficient for Vms1 localization to mitochondria, through binding the MTD in an interaction that is competitive with binding to the LRS. These data support a model in which stressed mitochondria generate an oxidized sterol receptor that recruits Vms1 to support mitochondrial protein homeostasis.
Additive manufacturing of titanium and titanium alloys for biomedical applications

Abstract Metallic biomedical implants comprise almost over 95% of the orthopedic and dental implant market worldwide. A steady increase in surgical interventions using metallic implants is continuing over the years to improve the quality of life of our ageing population. Among different material options for implants, titanium (Ti) and its alloys are very popular due to their excellent biocompatibility and proven mechanical properties, namely fatigue resistance and high strength-to-weight ratio. In recent years, innovation in manufacturing technologies toward biomedical implants, particularly load-bearing implants, have initiated excitement toward novel designs and design modifications. Among different manufacturing technologies and technological innovations, additive manufacturing or 3D Printing is making the most significant impact. Several additive manufacturing based technologies exist, although the focus of this review is to discuss three key approaches and provide examples of work performed using those technologies along with their potential impact. The fabrication technologies discussed here are primarily laser and electron beam based additive manufacturing using both powder bed and directed energy deposit techniques. We have also briefly discussed challenges as well as future trends in the field.
A pilot test of the GoWoman weight management intervention for women with mobility impairments in the online virtual world of Second Life

Objective: Pilot test GoWoman, a small-group weight management intervention for mobility impaired women that was a disability- and gender-responsive adaptation of the Diabetes Prevention Program de...
Analysis of Oscillatory Patterns of a Discrete-Time Rosenzweig–MacArthur Model

This article investigates the oscillatory patterns of the following discrete-time Rosenzweig–MacArthur model x1[n + 1] = (1 + λ)x1[n] − ax12[n] −bx1[n]x2[n] 1+mx1[n] ,x2[n + 1] = (1 + μ)x2[n] + cx1...
Treating Inpatients With Comorbid Depression and Alcohol Use Disorders: A Comparison of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Versus Treatment as Usual

Inpatients involuntarily committed to a chemical dependency unit and exhibiting a co-occurring depressive disorder received either individual sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) or treatment as usual (TAU) within the context of an ongoing 12-step program. Results indicated significant, but equivalent, reductions in levels of depression for both treatment conditions. However, participants randomly assigned to receive ACT (n = 12) required a shorter treatment phase and smaller dose of individual therapy to meet criteria for discharge compared to their TAU counterparts (n = 12). As expected, an analysis of the therapeutic process suggested that a differential reduction in levels of experiential avoidance associated with ACT may have contributed to its apparent relatively greater therapeutic impact. Limitations of the study, as well as its possible implications for the treatment of comorbid depression and alcohol use disorders in particular, and of co-occurring presenting clinical problems in general, are discussed.
Prices and Availability of Healthy Foods across St. Louis

“Food deserts” —low-income neighborhoods lacking grocery stores or supermarkets—may contribute to the high prevalence of diet-related disease among low-income populations. This study surveys forty ...
Effect of herpes simplex virus type 1 infection on cytokine gene expression in activated murine peritoneal macrophages.

The intrinsic resistance to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) of murine peritoneal macrophages (PMo) obtained after in vivo infection of different stimuli has been investigated and shown to vary depending on the state of Mo activation. Activation of Mo by C. parvum (CP-Mo) or by an avirulent strain of S. typhimurium (Sal-Mo) increased the permissiveness of Mo to HSV-1 infection as evidenced by increased HSV-1 immediate early (IE) gene expression, synthesis of IE proteins, and the degree of cytopathic effect. HSV-1 infection was also found to sharply reduce the level of IL-1-β mRNA in CP-Mo) and Sal-Mo, and the level of IL-β mRNA in infected Sal-Mo, as measured by northern blot hybridization. Barely detectable levels of IL-β mRNA were found in Sal-Mo after infection with HSV-1 when the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to confirm the reduction of IL-1-β mRNA. These data suggest that HSV-1 infection can modulate gene expression of some cytokines in the activated Mo.
Langevin Dynamics Study of Polymer Translocation through a Nanopore

We study the translocation of a polymer through a nanopore by means of Langevin dynamics simulations. For different driving forces F driving we find different power-law scaling behavior for the polymer translocation time τ trans as a function of the degree of polymerization N. If F driving is small the polymer stays in or near equilibrium during translocation and the observed behavior is consistent with predictions from equilibrium theory. For large F driving the polymer is driven far out of equilibrium. In this case, we observe a linear relation between τ trans and N, in apparent contradiction with a theoretically suggested lower bound.
Growth and hormonal response of intact and castrate male cattle to trenbolone acetate and estradiol.

Effects of castration and anabolic implants on weight gain, rib soft tissue composition and serum hormones were studied in cattle using a completely random design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement. Half of 16 bulls and 16 steers (Angus or Angus x Brahman) aged 9 mo and weighing 290 kg were treated with an implant (200 mg trenbolone acetate and 24 mg estradiol). Half of each group were not treated with an implant. A growing diet was fed for 95 d and half the animals in each group were slaughtered. Animals in the treated groups were reimplanted with trenbolone acetate and fed a finishing diet for 84 d and slaughtered. Percentage dry matter, fat and protein were determined on soft tissue from the 9-10-11th rib. Two blood samples were collected from each animal every 2 wk. Serum was assayed for five hormones. During the growing phase, untreated and treated bulls and treated steers gained more weight and had leaner rib sections that untreated steers (P less than .05); after the finishing phase, there were no differences among groups. Untreated steers had lower insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and higher cortisol concentrations during both phases of growth than untreated bulls did (P less than .05). Treatment with implants increased IGF-I concentrations in steers during both phases and reduced cortisol during the finishing phase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Abstract 69: Does Advanced Imaging Delay Time to Administration of Intravenous rt-PA in the Acute Ischemic Stroke Patient?

Background: Faster administration of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rt-PA) is associated with better outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. Cerebral imaging is essential to determine inclusion and exclusion criteria, yet there are no universal imaging protocols for the AIS patient. Furthermore, multimodal imaging can lead to longer times of acquisition and interpretation. We assess the change in treatment times in our institution before and after modification of our imaging protocol. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis comparing time to Computed Tomography (CT) interpretation and time to IV rt-PA treatment in AIS patients at our institution for three months before and after implementing imaging protocol changes. We defined these groups as the multimodal imaging group which received Non-contrast Computed Tomography of the head (NCCTH), CT Arteriogram (CTA), and CT Perfusion (CTP), versus the NCCTH only group. We performed statistical analysis using Fisher exact test comparing treatment groups in goal time to CT interpretation ( Results: During the six month period, we identified 110 AIS patients who underwent activation of our emergent CT protocol. The multimodal group contained 43 patients while the NCCTH only group contained 67. The mean Time to CT interpretation was 130 (range 11-557) in the multimodal group vs. 87 (12-361) in the NCCTH only group with 16% vs. 37% receiving CT evaluation within 45 minutes of presentation (p=0.02). The mean Time to IV rt-PA administration was 72 minutes (range 19-138) in the multimodal group and 60 minutes (32-94) in the NCCTH only group with 29% vs. 50% receiving IV TPA within 60 minutes (p=0.02). Conclusion: The use of multimodal imaging may provide useful information for AIS treatments beyond IV rt-PA; however, such advanced imaging was a source of delay for treatment at our institution. Streamlining the imaging protocol at our institution has improved our achievement of rt-PA administration time goals.
Dynamic backtracking

Because of their occasional need to return to shallow points in a search tree, existing backtracking methods can sometimes erase meaningful progress toward solving a search problem. In this paper, we present a method by which backtrack points can be moved deeper in the search space, thereby avoiding this difficulty. The technique developed is a variant of dependency-directed backtracking that uses only polynomial space while still providing useful control information and retaining the completeness guarantees provided by earlier approaches.
PROVIDER-LEVEL VARIABILITY IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH SEVERE SYMPTOMATIC AORTIC VALVE STENOSIS

Patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (ssAS) have high mortality and compromised quality of life without aortic valve replacement (AVR), whether surgical or transcatheter. The role of cardiologists in facilitating access to AVR is not well understood. Natural language processing of
Spatio-temporal comparison of pertussis outbreaks in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 2004-2005 and 2012: a population-based study.

Objective Two pertussis outbreaks occurred in Olmsted County, Minnesota, during 2004–2005 and 2012 (5–10 times higher than other years), with significantly higher incidence than for the State. We aimed to assess whether there were similar spatio-temporal patterns between the two outbreaks. Setting Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA Participants We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study of all Olmsted County residents during the 2004–2005 and 2012 outbreaks, including laboratory-positive pertussis cases. Primary outcome measure For each outbreak, we estimated (1) age-specific incidence rate using laboratory-positive pertussis cases (numerator) and the Rochester Epidemiology Project Census (denominator), a medical record-linkage system for virtually all Olmsted County residents, and (2) pertussis case density using kernel density estimation to identify areas with high case density. To account for population size, we calculated relative difference of observed density and expected density based on age-specific incidence. Results We identified 157 and 195 geocoded cases in 2004–2005 and 2012, respectively. Incidence was the highest among adolescents (ages 11 to Conclusions Comparing spatio-temporal patterns between two pertussis outbreaks identified a consistent geographical area with higher incidence of pertussis at the beginning of outbreaks in this community. This finding can be tested in future outbreaks, and, if confirmed, can be used for identifying epidemiological risk factors clustered in such areas for geographically targeted intervention.
Coronary Arteritis in IgG4-Related Disease

Coronary Arteritis in IgG4-Related Disease A 47-year-old man with known IgG4-related disease presented to the cardiology clinic. Cardiac imaging revealed aneurysmal dilatation of the right coronary...
An Improved Procedure for Mono C-Alkylation of Pentane-2.4-Dione with ω-Bromoacid Esters

Pentane-2,4-dione is alkylated by ethyl bromoacetate or ethyl 6-bromohexanoate in high yield in CH2C12 or 5:1 CH3CN-(CH3)2SO solvents, using one equivalent of K2CO3-Cs2CO3 as base.
Evolution of statistical methodology and design of phase II/III clinical trials in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

7108 Background: A significant heterogeneity exists in the design and reporting of phase II and III therapeutic clinical trials in NSCLC. This has led to difficulty in interpretation of these trial...