cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tail loss and narrow surfaces decrease locomotor stability in the arboreal green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis)

Tails play an important role for dynamic stabilization during falling and jumping in lizards. Yet, tail autotomy (the voluntary loss of an appendage) is a common mechanism used for predator evasion among these animals. How tail autotomy impacts locomotor performance and stability remains poorly understood. The goal of this study was to determine how tail loss affects running kinematics and performance in the arboreal green anole lizard, Anolis carolinensis (Voigt, 1832). Lizards were run along four surface widths (9.5 mm, 15.9 mm, 19.0 mm, and flat), before and following 75% tail autotomy. Results indicate that when perturbed with changes in surface breadth and tail condition, surface breadth tends to have greater impacts on locomotor performance than does tail loss. Furthermore, while tail loss does have a destabilizing effect during regular running in these lizards, its function during steady locomotion is minimal. Instead, the tail likely plays a more active role during dynamic maneuvers that require dramatic changes in whole body orientation or center of mass trajectories.
Synthesis of 68Ga-DOTATOC and 68Ga-PSMA-HBED-CC based on iTG 68Ga generator.

445 Objectives Several 68Ge/68Ga radionuclide generators (Ga-68 generator) are commercially available and use TiO2, SnO2 or derivatized SiO2 as column material. They are all eluted using hydrochloric acid (of varying concentration) and thus provide cationic 68Ga species ready for radiopharmaceutical syntheses. Isotope Technologies Garching GmBH (iTG) developed a generator that utilizes pyrogallol-derivatized SiO2 as an adsorbent allowing for very dilute HCl (0.05 N) to efficiently elute Ga-68 ready (no pre-purification) for peptide labeling. We synthesized 68Ga labeled peptides, DOTATOC and PSMA-HBED-CC (PSMA) intended for clinical studies under INDs, and established protocols for batch release. Methods A 50 mCi (1.85 GBq) iTG Ga-68 generator is self-shielded and provides metal-free 68Ga chloride ready for peptide labeling following elution with 4 mL of 0.05N HCl. The entire system is compact and was readily housed in a laminar flow cabinet to provide an ISO class-5 environment. 68Ga labeling of peptides using GMP kits was performed in Results Over a period of 8 months, Ga-68 elution yields from the generator were >80% and Ge-68 breakthrough was 98% and >90% respectively. The radionuclidic (Ge-68) impurity was Conclusions The itG Ga-68 generator with the IQS Fluidic labeling module is compact, self-shielded and easy to operate using simple manual techniques. The system provides 68Ga labeled peptides with high RCP, CP and SA with acceptable Ge-68 levels. Both IND radiolabeled peptides are approved for clinical research studies.
Ubiquitous luminance sensing using the Raspberry Pi and Camera Module system

In this paper, the authors have calibrated a Raspberry Pi and Camera Module (RPiCM) for use as an absolute luminance sensor. The spectral response of the RPiCM chip as well as linear mapping to the...
64 BARRIERS TO DIABETES CARE IN LATINO/HISPANIC PATIENTS.

Epidemiological studies have shown that Latinos have a 2-2.5 times higher prevalence of diabetes than Caucasians. Latinos also have higher rates of microvascular complications and mortality. The disproportionate rate of diabetes and its complications that are sweeping the Latino population demand that we search for treatment barriers. Accordingly, we analyzed the clinical characteristics and the glycemic, blood pressure, and lipid status at presentation and during follow-up in patients attending the Grady Diabetes Clinic (GDC). A total of 3,880 new patients, 3,429 blacks (88.4%), 210 whites (5.4%), and 167 Latinos (4.3%), attended the GDC during 1/1/2000 to 12/30/03. In summary, Latinos are younger and leaner and present with poorer glycemic control. Less than 50% and 25% of Latinos returned for a 6- and 12-month follow-up visit, respectively. Patients who attended clinic, however, achieved similar glycemic control compared to other ethnic groups. Our results indicate that lack of follow-up is a major obstacle in providing care to the Latino community. Comprehensive and culturally appropriate diabetes education programs are needed to improve care of Latinos with diabetes.
A Voice Without a Body: The Phonographic Logic of Heart of Darkness

Besides how could you remember everybody? Eyes, walk, voice. Well, the voice, yes: gramophone. Have a gramophone in every grave or keep it in the house. After dinner on a Sunday. Put on poor old greatgrandfather Kraahraark! Hellohellohello amawfullyglad kraark awfullygladaseeragain hellohelloamarawf kopthsth. Remind you of the voice like the photograph reminds you of the face. Otherwise you couldn't remember the face after fifteen years, say. (114)
’Freud is finished, Einstein’s next’: Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis , Chaos Theory, and Quantum Entanglement

This essay argues that, in Cosmopolis, DeLillo returns to mathematical topics and formal structures, like those presented in Ratner's Star, and expands them to reflect more recent developments in science and technology to contemplate time—the subject that permeates many of his twenty first century novels—and to highlight, variously, the unpredictable, uncertain, interconnected, and illusory nature of the contemporary world. Written in between the dot-com bubble burst and the aftermath of September 11, 2001, this essay asserts that Cosmopolis is liminal: it offers a glimpse of the ruins of the future, and as one of its rejected titles suggests, it approaches an omega point. Drawing heavily on archival research in the Don DeLillo Papers at University of Texas, Austin's Harry Ransom Center, this essay contends that Cosmopolis is a thought experiment, of sorts, in which DeLillo incorporates his substantial and ongoing research on strange attractors, quantum entanglement, and the physics of time to consider the "[t]wo forces in this world, past and future." In doing so, this essay suggests that DeLillo calls for a reassessment of the time in which this text is set and proposes an alternate way of perceiving the post-9/11 world.
The Expectant Father: His Care and Management

A properly indoctrinated expectant father can be an ally to the doctor. The husband can offer understanding aid and comfort to his wife throughout her pregnancy. The doctor should review specific problems of pregnancy with both husband and wife. Overanxious or depressed expectant fathers should be reassured. Adjusting to fatherhood requires patience and study.
Effects of Aging on Coincidence Anticipation Timing in Females

Ten young and 10 older adult females, who were all right-eye and right-hand dominant, performed a switch-press and a hitting coincidence anticipation timing task on a Bassin Anticipation Timing apparatus with stimulus speeds of 4,8, and 12 mph. Level of experience with open skills was determined by a self-report questionnaire, and all participants were screened on six visual characteristics using the Biopter Vision Test. Unlike the young adults, older adults reported no substantial experience with open skills. Prior experience with open skills was found to have little effect on the different dependent variables. Nonetheless, young females performed with less absolute and variable error than older females. Our data suggest that older females’ perceptual and motor systems are differentially affected by manipulations of task and stimulus characteristics.
Using Principles as a Tool for Understanding Ethics Cases

For clinical ethics, the model used most often, even if it is less a theory than a practical compromise, is called “the four principles.” Tom Beauchamp and James Childress first popularized this approach in their 1979 book, Principles of Biomedical Ethics. They have continued to develop this account for nearly 40 years and six editions. The principles have great utility, as evidenced by how they have been adopted (with varying degrees of modifications) by textbooks in medical ethics, nursing ethics, dental ethics, dental hygiene ethics, and many other clinical fields. Indeed, there is no reason to think they should not apply equally well to all clinical fields, and so could be useful for clinical social work and clinical psychology, as well as pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and other allied health professions. This also means they are especially useful for helping an interprofessional team reach a consensus. Given the proven utility of the approach for clinical ethics and research ethics, four additional principles are proposed to define professionalism, followed by four additional principles for Public Health ethics.
A Hypothetical Layout of Chaco Canyon Structures Via Large-Scale Alignments Between Significant Natural Features

This work introduces three research issues focused on whether the positions of Anasazi archaeological sites in Chaco Canyon were determined by large-scale geometric relationships to distant natural...
Taste Receptors Mediate Sinonasal Immunity and Respiratory Disease

The bitter taste receptor T2R38 has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), where the receptor functions to enhance upper respiratory innate immunity through a triad of beneficial immune responses. Individuals with a functional version of T2R38 are tasters for the bitter compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and exhibit an anti-microbial response in the upper airway to certain invading pathogens, while those individuals with a non-functional version of the receptor are PTC non-tasters and lack this beneficial response. The clinical ramifications are significant, with the non-taster genotype being an independent risk factor for CRS requiring surgery, poor quality-of-life (QOL) improvements post-operatively, and decreased rhinologic QOL in patients with cystic fibrosis. Furthermore, indirect evidence suggests that non-tasters also have a larger burden of biofilm formation. This new data may influence the clinical management of patients with infectious conditions affecting the upper respiratory tract and possibly at other mucosal sites throughout the body.
T.P.1: Pilot study evaluating motivation on the performance of timed walking in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Current trials in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have focused on the distance traveled using the 6-min walk test (6MWT). As a primary efficacy outcome for clinical trials it can be quantified over a continuous scale. Limitations include a self-selected walking speed irrespective of encouragement and weakness predisposing to falls. We predicted that a monetary incentive of $50 could improve same-day 6MWT performance. Nine DMD boys (mean age 7.7) were instructed to walk quickly, not run. Encouragement was permitted throughout the test. Subjects were then stratified into an above or below 350 m group and randomly assigned to either the incentivized (IN) or non-incentivized (non-IN) group. A second 6MWT was completed after a rest period during which the following instructions were provided. The IN was told “If you walk faster on this repeat 6MWT you will receive $50. Remember to walk quickly and safely.” The non-IN were told “You are repeating the 6MWT and remember to walk quickly and safely.” The same evaluator conducted both tests, was blinded to group, and provided the same encouragement during each 6MWT. Current data is available in 9 boys, however data on a cohort of 36 will be presented. The boys in the IN (n = 5, mean age = 7.7) walked an average of 44 m (11%, max: 105 m) farther on the second 6MWT. The non-IN (n = 4, mean age = 7.6) walked an average of 5.1 m (2%, max: 16 m) farther. The increase in distance in IN was most distinct in the above 350 m (75 m or 17%) compared to the below 350 m (24 m or 7%) group. Our pilot data suggest that a financial incentive results in a measurable increase in within-day 6MWT distance in DMD. This variance is more pronounced in the above 350 m group which is the typical target for clinical trials. This data suggests that external motivators have a significant impact on the 6MWT and should be considered in the design and interpretation of clinical trials.
Emerging Trends Could Exacerbate Health Inequities In The United States

Health inequities among people of different races and ethnicities, geographical locations, and social classes are not a new phenomenon, although the size of the inequities has changed since researchers first began documenting them. While interventions to improve the health of targeted disadvantaged groups may help combat disparities, broader trends that disproportionately benefit privileged groups or harm vulnerable populations can eclipse the progress made through isolated interventions. These trends threaten equity in health and health care in the United States either through direct effects on health or through impacts on the distribution of resources, risks, and power. We highlight trends in four domains: health care technologies, health reform policies, widening socioeconomic inequality, and environmental hazards. We suggest ways of countering the effects of these trends to promote health equity, focusing on strategies that promise co-benefits across multiple sectors.
Evidence of Diversity, Site, and Host Specificity of Sea Turtle Blood Flukes (Digenea: Schistosomatoidea: "Spirorchiidae"): A Molecular Prospecting Study.

Abstract Neospirorchis (Digenea: “Spirorchiidae”) are blood flukes of sea turtles. Trematodes tentatively identified as Neospirorchis sp. infect various sites within sea turtles inhabiting waters of the southeastern United States, but efforts to obtain specimens adequate for morphologic study has proven difficult. Two genetic targets, the internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA gene and the partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, were used to investigate potential diversity among parasite specimens collected from stranded sea turtles. Sequence data were obtained from 215 trematode and egg specimens collected from 92 individual free-ranging cheloniid sea turtles comprising 4 host species. Molecular analysis yielded more than 20 different genotypes. We were able to assign 1 genotype to 1 of the 2 recognized species, Neospirorchis pricei Manter and Larson, 1950. In many examples, genotypes exhibited host and site specificity. Our findings indicate considerable diversity of ...
Next Generation Sequencing for Blood Group Antigen Profiling

There are over 300 serologically defined red blood cell (RBC) antigens and 33 serologically defined platelet antigens, most of which have known genetic changes in 45 RBC or 6 platelet genes that correlate with antigen expression. Exposure to non-self RBC antigens during transfusion or pregnancy can lead to the development of alloantibodies, which on re-exposure can lead to clinically significant and even fatal complications. Therefore, it is vital to know which antigens are present on RBCs. However, traditional serologic phenotyping methods are labor intensive, costly, sometimes unreliable, and reagents are not always available. As such, routine antigen typing is only done for ABO and D antigens. A large percentage of blood is given for hematologic malignancies that will soon get routine whole genome sequencing (WGS). For a minor added cost this data could be used for RBC antigen prediction. However, there are no published reports of using WGS data to predict RBC antigens. This is likely for several reasons: (1) none of the existing WGS data sets have paired serologic RBC phenotypes, (2) there are no fully annotated and complete databases of genotypes to phenotypes, (3) all of the known alleles are defined using cDNAs numbered relative to the start codon without human genome coordinates, and (4) lack of software capable of automated RBC antigen prediction. We have created a fully interactive web site of all known blood group genotype to phenotype correlations, fully annotated with relevant information, and mapped to and visually overlaid to their corresponding human reference genome gene sequences, with algorithms to predict antigen phenotypes from inputted sequences. These predictions are part of the General Genome Reports for the 100 patients getting WGS as part of The MedSeq Project. In addition, each patient is undergoing an extensive antigen phenotypic workup using traditional blood bank serology and currently available SNP PCR based assays, which are being used to validate and improve our prediction strategies. As clinical WGS becomes pervasive we hope that comprehensive blood group prediction will be done on everyone, allowing for easy identification of rare donors and the prevention of alloantibody formation using extended upfront matching of antigens from sequenced recipients and donor. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Neutron-Induced Photon Production Cross Sections

A procedure for the determination of neutron-induced photon production cross sections is described, including corrections for the neutron-induced photon background and the unfolding of the gamma-ray spectra. As an example, data have been obtained for tantalum and beryllium with five bismuth germanate detectors and the high-energy white neutron source at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. Calculations and measurements indicate that a beryllium sample may be used to simulate a neutron-induced photon background. Results for the Ta(n,chi..gamma..) reaction for neutron energies below E/sub n/ = 20 MeV are compared with previous measurements at the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator.
Students and Short-Term Family Therapy: An Assessment:

Social work graduate students doing short-term family therapy had most success in alleviating the problems of the identified patient and preventing a new patient's being singled out; had slightly l...
Assessing Trace Evidence Left by Secure Deletion Programs

Secure deletion programs purport to permanently erase files from digital media. These programs are used by businesses and individuals to remove sensitive information from media, and by criminals to remove evidence of the tools or fruits of illegal activities. This paper focuses on the trace evidence left by secure deletion programs. In particular, five Windows-based secure deletion programs are tested to determine if they leave identifiable signatures after deleting a file. The results show that the majority of the programs leave identifiable signatures. Moreover, some of the programs do not completely erase file metadata, which enables forensic investigators to extract the name, size, creation date and deletion date of the “deleted” files.
Factors affecting lipoprotein metabolism.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the factors that affect the metabolism of lipoproteins. It is now widely accepted that water-insoluble lipids circulate in plasma bound to specific proteins to yield soluble macromolecular complexes, lipoproteins, which vary in lipid complement and nature of their protein moiety. Rapid progress in lipid technology has led to important analytical data on the lipoprotein lipids, although their structural arrangement in each plasma lipoprotein remains undetermined. It is possible that some disorders of lipid metabolism may arise from primary qualitative and quantitative abnormalities of lipoprotein protein production. Genetic disorders, such as Tangier disease or acanthocytosis, could be included in this category. Neither the relative contribution of the protein and lipid moieties in the overall metabolism of the plasma lipoprotein is known nor is the role of their carbohydrate moiety. Abnormalities in the distribution of the three main lipoprotein classes, VLDL, LDL, and HDL, have now been recognized under a variety of conditions: hormonal imbalance, drug administration, dietary changes, and genetic factors. In each instance, the basic defect still remains undetermined, partially a reflection of lack of understanding of the mechanisms that physiologically regulate lipoprotein metabolism.
Probabilities in Quantum Mechanics

This note seeks to survey crucial issues and to pinpoint difficulties in the current controversy over the meaning of measurement [2] and its proper mathematical description in quantum physics. It deals primarily with those philosophic and mathematical considerations which arise from the statistical nature of the results of physical measurements. The first part reviews and aims to clarify matters of more or less general interest; the second and third are devoted to some specific recent results concerning joint probabilities and phase-space distribution functions.
Mechanisms of Calcification in Peyronie’s Disease

AbstractScanning and transmission electron micrographs demonstrate a calcification process in the penile plaques of patients with Peyronie’s disease. Osteoid formation originates from vascular lumina via osteoblast-like cells, which align the calcified plaque. These cells are surrounded gradually by calcified connective tissue. Collagen fibers demonstrate calcification and decreased periodicity.
The C. elegans SMOC-1 protein acts cell non-autonomously to promote bone morphogenetic protein signaling

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling regulates many different developmental and homeostatic processes in metazoans. The BMP pathway is conserved in Caenorhabditis elegans , and is known to regulate body size and mesoderm development. We have identified the C. elegans smoc-1 (Secreted MOdular Calcium binding protein-1) gene as a new player in the BMP pathway. smoc-1(0) null mutants have a small body size, while overexpression of smoc-1 led to a long body size and increased expression of the RAD-SMAD BMP reporter, suggesting that SMOC-1 acts as a positive modulator of BMP signaling. Using double mutant analysis, we showed that SMOC-1 antagonizes the function of the glypican LON-2 and acts through the BMP ligand DBL-1 to regulate BMP signaling. Moreover, SMOC-1 appears to specifically regulate BMP signaling without significant involvement in a TGFβ-like pathway that regulates dauer development. We found that smoc-1 is expressed in multiple tissues, including the pharynx, the intestine, and the posterior hypodermis, and that the expression of smoc-1 in the intestine is positively regulated by BMP signaling. We further established that SMOC-1 functions cell non-autonomously to regulate body size. Human SMOC1 and SMOC2 can each partially rescue the smoc-1(0) mutant phenotype, suggesting that SMOC-19s function in modulating BMP signaling is evolutionarily conserved. Together, our findings highlight a conserved role of SMOC proteins in modulating BMP signaling in metazoans.
WiFröst: Bridging the Information Gap for Debugging of Networked Embedded Systems

The rise in prevalence of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies has encouraged more people to prototype and build custom internet connected devices based on low power microcontrollers. While well-developed tools exist for debugging network communication for desktop and web applications, it can be difficult for developers of networked embedded systems to figure out why their network code is failing due to the limited output affordances of embedded devices. This paper presents WiFrost, a new approach for debugging these systems using instrumentation that spans from the device itself, to its communication API, to the wireless router and back-end server. WiFrost automatically collects this data, displays it in a web-based visualization, and highlights likely issues with an extensible suite of checks based on analysis of recorded execution traces.
What Are We Afraid Of

The financial industry depends on the interconnection of institutions, markets, service providers, and customers that rely on a highly complex technology environment. The evolving characteristics of the global financial systems architecture drive an ever-expanding array of management challenges. Cybersecurity risk exists throughout the enterprise architecture in technology, personnel, and process domains, resulting in substantial risk management challenges. A variety of threats are evident and can exploit many aspects of the new complexity to gain access to critical systems and sensitive information.
To serve the King, the State and the people: the Adriatic Guard’s ambiguous position in interwar Yugoslavia

AbstractFrom 1922 to 1941, the Adriatic Guard, a non-governmental Yugoslav volunteer association, was active in a very broad spectrum of sectors (transport, social and economic policies, education, tourism, science, national defense) with the aim of transforming Yugoslavia into a sea-oriented nation. Examining these activities alongside the association’s leadership, administrative, and membership structures, as well as its relationship with other Yugoslav nationalist volunteer associations and the Yugoslav state, this article highlights aspects of the association’s history and legacy. At the same time, it demonstrates that the association’s external signs of success masked internal operational problems as well as ethnic and political tensions. While the Adriatic Guard firmly supported the state and integral Yugoslavism, and succeeded in negotiating its position within the Yugoslav space and with the Yugoslav dictatorship, because of continuing conflicts over, for instance, the national question and transp...
Guidelines for Multiple Brain Metastases Radiosurgery

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an effective treatment for patients with multiple brain metastases. Three decades of increasingly powerful scientific studies have shown that SRS improves outcomes and reduces toxicity when it replaces whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT). Expert opinion surveys of clinicians have reported that the total intracranial tumor volume rather than the number of brain metastases is related to outcomes. As a result, an increasing number of treating and referring physicians have replaced the reflex use of WBRT with SRS, unless the patient has miliary disease or carcinomatous meningitis. In the current era of immunotherapy and targeted therapies with potentially increased systemic disease survival, 10 or more tumors are routinely treated with SRS alone at most academic medical centers. In a single SRS session we routinely treat patients with cumulative tumor volumes of 25 cm3 even if they have ≥10 metastases.
Improved outpatient haemodialysis adequacy using queued schedules.

BACKGROUND Although technical advances help achieve haemodialysis adequacy, we hypothesise remediable non-therapy factors exacerbate patient dissatisfaction, non-adherence to treatment time and failure to meet dialysis goals. Scheduling inefficiencies lead to the total time in the unit far greater than actual treatment time, impacting facility efficiency and patient frustration. OBJECTIVES We used queuing theorem principles to optimise schedules by incorporating timing and workflow for every dialysis process step to design a new schedule, rather than the whole-shift blocks at baseline. DESIGN The goals were to: (1) craft schedules that maximised efficiency and economics from a facility perspective, and (2) minimise total time in the dialysis unit from a patient viewpoint. As dialysis units are held to a national standard of urea clearance, reduction ratios (URRs) were measured for the 3 months before and after the new scheduling was implemented. RESULTS Dialysis staff and process parameters were measured to craft queued schedules of staggered small groups of patients instead of baseline blocks of 2 large shifts, 24 each. A total of 65 patients changed to groups of 8, with entry-to-exit at 290 minutes for four hours treatments. The URRs improved from 72.8 ± 6.9 to 75.2 ± 5.4% (p < 0.001). Before implementation, only 89% of subjects reached the URR facility compliance target of 65%, and afterwards 97% (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Queuing theorem principles can be successfully adopted to optimise haemodialysis scheduling. The resultant staggered timing increases facility efficiency, minimises the long wait time dissatisfier, and is associated with improved URRs with more patients reaching target clearance thresholds.
Electron-Impact Ionization Data for the Nickel Isonuclear Sequence

Atomic data for the electron impact ionization of ions in the nickel isonuclear sequence are reviewed. Calculations have been performed for all charge states in the distorted-wave approximation. In 8 of the 28 ions of the nickel isonuclear sequence, experiment and theory are compared. In many of the ions, excitation-autoionization contributions to the total cross section are found to be quite important. For intermediate charge state ions a large fraction of the experimental cross section may be attributed to ionization from metastable levels of low-lying excited configurations. Maxwellian collisional rate coefficients are calculated from the cross section data and presented in parametrized form.
Attention Disturbances Associated with Neurological Disease

Disturbances of attention are among the common manifestations of neurological diseases and other medical illnesses that affect the brain. For example, one study of patients with peripheral vascular disease, transient ischemic attacks, and “silent” stroke found that 25 % of patients fell below the fifth tile on measures of attention [1]. Yet, these disturbances have typically received less emphasis than other cognitive syndromes in the neuropsychological research literature. There are several likely explanations for this: (1) Attention disturbances cannot be localized to one specific brain structure but rather can arise secondary to damage to a variety of different brain regions. (2) Historically, it was more difficult to measure attention than other cognitive functions, such as memory, visual perception, language, or motor control. (3) There has been a tendency to characterize attention problems based on performance on a single type of task, such as Digit Span, or to assume that tention is intact if the patient is able to sustain their test-taking behavior during testing. (4) Attention problems tend to be dismissed as manifestation of inadequate effort or motivation rather than as an effect of brain dysfunction. (5) Attention complaints and disturbances are so pervasive among people with neurological and other medical conditions that it is easy to overlook them.
Latent Topic Networks: A Versatile Probabilistic Programming Framework for Topic Models

Topic models have become increasingly prominent text-analytic machine learning tools for research in the social sciences and the humanities. In particular, custom topic models can be developed to answer specific research questions. The design of these models requires a nontrivial amount of effort and expertise, motivating general-purpose topic modeling frameworks. In this paper we introduce latent topic networks, a flexible class of richly structured topic models designed to facilitate applied research. Custom models can straightforwardly be developed in our framework with an intuitive first-order logical probabilistic programming language. Latent topic networks admit scalable training via a parallelizable EM algorithm which leverages ADMMin the M-step. We demonstrate the broad applicability of the models with case studies on modeling influence in citation networks, and U.S. Presidential State of the Union addresses.
Oral focal mucinosis. A clinicopathologic and histochemical study of eight cases

Abstract Eight cases of the oral counterpart of cutaneous focal mucinosis and/or cutaneous myxoid cyst are reported, and their histologic and histochemical findings are discussed. On the basis of these findings, it is suggested that the lesions are identical and differ only in their anatomic location. It appears likely that most, if not all, cases diagnosed as oral soft-tissue myxomas are in reality oral lesions of the entity described as cutaneous focal mucinosis. It is postulated that focal mucinosis develops because of a fibroblastic overproduction of hyaluronic acid due to an unknown stimulus. The lesion is treated by surgical excision and has no tendency to recur.
Treatment Options in Smoking Cessation: What Place for Bupropion Sustained-Release?

Bupropion SR is approved for the treatment of tobacco dependence in adult smokers. Bupropion SR is an atypical antidepressant that has been shown to double the likelihood of quitting smoking (to roughly 19%-24% six months into a quit attempt), perhaps by acting on dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems and by acting as an antagonist of nicotine acetylcholine receptors. Head-to-head comparisons of bupropion SR and other stop-smoking treatments suggest that bupropion SR is as or more efficacious than nicotine replacement therapies, equally efficacious as nortriptyline, and less efficacious than varenicline. The evidence available regarding the effectiveness of bupropion SR in real-world settings suggests that abstinence rates are similar to those seen in controlled clinical trials. Bupropion SR appears to be safe and efficacious for both men and women and for people with comorbid medical or mental health conditions. Evidence collected to date supports the use of bupropion SR as a safe, tolerable pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation among adult smokers without a predisposition to seizures, but also suggests that benefits in terms of abstinence last only as long as treatment continues. This review focuses on recent evidence regarding bupropion SR effects and highlights important questions regarding the duration of effects, relative efficacy, effectiveness in clinical use, mechanisms of action, and utilization of bupropion SR that remain unanswered.
Development of new detection schemes using colorimetric- solid phase extraction for formaldehyde and other trace organic contaminants in water

Space exploration by humans requires maintenance of an adequate potable water supply. Biocide levels must therefore be kept within allowable limits to prevent bacterial growth without causing adverse effects on crew health. Likewise, contaminants such as heavy metals and toxic organic compounds must be held at or below acceptable limits. Currently, spacecraft water quality analyses are performed on samples collected on the International Space Station and returned to Earth. Several months, however, can pass between sample collection and analysis, which may compromise sample integrity due to degradation. These delays also inhibit implementation of real time correction scenarios. There is, therefore, a critical need for rapid, on-board methods for monitoring trace quantities of several analytes in spacecraft drinking water supplies. We have previously described methods for monitoring the biocides iodine (I 2 ) and silver(I), as well as the heavy metals nickel(ll) and lead(ll), by Colorimetric-Solid Phase Extraction (C-SPE). C-SPE is a sorption-spectrophotometric platform based on the selective extraction of analytes onto a membrane impregnated with a colorimetric reagent, followed by quantification on the membrane surface using a diffuse reflectance spectrophotometer. Building on our previous work, this paper describes recent progress in the development of a C-SPE platform for determining the contaminants formaldehyde and glycol, with detection limits as low as 4.6 ppb. In this method, which is the first to apply C-SPE to the determination of organic compounds, the requisite reagents will eventually be immobilized on inert media and packaged in an easy-to-use kit. These reagents are introduced during sample collection, forming a colored product that is exhaustively extracted onto an anion exchange membrane. The analyte concentration is determined on the membrane surface using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Details related to the first performance evaluations of this technique will be discussed.
Comparison of the attachment of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium, and Pseudomonas fluorescens to lettuce leaves.

Attachment of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Pseudomonas fluorescens on iceberg lettuce was evaluated by plate count and confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). Attachment of each microorganism (∼108 CFU/ml) on the surface and the cut edge of lettuce leaves was determined. E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes attached preferentially to cut edges, while P. fluorescens attached preferentially to the intact surfaces. Differences in attachment at the two sites were greatest with L. monocytogenes. Salmonella Typhimurium attached equally to the two sites. At the surface, P. fluorescens attached in greatest number, followed by E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella Typhimurium. Attached microorganisms on lettuce were stained with fluorescein isothiocyanate and visualized by CSLM. Images at the surface and the cut edge of lettuce confirmed the plate count data. In addition, microcolony formation by P. fluorescens was observed on the lettuce surface. Som...
Beating the Odds: Teaching Italian online in the Community College Environment

This study analyzes data collected from Italian language online classes during the course of four consecutive semesters at Bronx Community College in order to measure the impact that distance learning has on students’ retention and success rates. The results reveal that reconfiguring the online meetings to a lower percentage and implementing social pedagogies and an “intrusive” teaching approach on the part of the instructor reduce the percentage of course abandonment and favor the creation of strong learning communities. Furthermore, the data relative to the grade distribution shows no substantial difference between online courses and face-to-face instruction.
Lavender Jade. The Optical Spectrum of Fe^(3+) and Fe^(2+)→ Fe^(3+)Intervalence Charge Transfer in Jadeite from Burma

The optical spectra of green, white, and lavender jadeite have been studied. Ferric iron is responsible for the color in the green jadeite. It is proposed that ferrous-ferric iron intervalence charge transfer is responsible for the lavender color of jadeite.
Ozurdex for the Treatment of a Patient with Birdshot Chorioretinopathy

We report a 57-year-old patient with birdshot chorioretinopathy (BCR) who was treated with bilateral Ozurdex injections. The patient's vitritis resolved, and visual acuity improved following this treatment. This is only the second case report focused on the treatment of BCR with Ozurdex and the first to report its use for treating vitritis. A concise review of the literature on the use of intravitreal steroids for this disease is provided. This case serves to report the clinical usefulness of Ozurdex in treating posterior vitritis associated with BCR even in the absence of macular edema.
Exposure to traffic pollution, acute inflammation and autonomic response in a panel of car commuters

Abstract Background Exposure to traffic pollution has been linked to numerous adverse health endpoints. Despite this, limited data examining traffic exposures during realistic commutes and acute response exists. Objectives We conducted the Atlanta Commuters Exposures (ACE-1) Study, an extensive panel-based exposure and health study, to measure chemically-resolved in-vehicle exposures and corresponding changes in acute oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, pulmonary and systemic inflammation and autonomic response. Methods We recruited 42 adults (21 with and 21 without asthma) to conduct two 2-h scripted highway commutes during morning rush hour in the metropolitan Atlanta area. A suite of in-vehicle particulate components were measured in the subjects’ private vehicles. Biomarker measurements were conducted before, during, and immediately after the commutes and in 3 hourly intervals after commutes. Results At measurement time points within 3 h after the commute, we observed mild to pronounced elevations relative to baseline in exhaled nitric oxide, C-reactive-protein, and exhaled malondialdehyde, indicative of pulmonary and systemic inflammation and oxidative stress initiation, as well as decreases relative to baseline levels in the time-domain heart-rate variability parameters, SDNN and rMSSD, indicative of autonomic dysfunction. We did not observe any detectable changes in lung function measurements (FEV1, FVC), the frequency-domain heart-rate variability parameter or other systemic biomarkers of vascular injury. Water soluble organic carbon was associated with changes in eNO at all post-commute time-points (p Conclusions Our results point to measureable changes in pulmonary and autonomic biomarkers following a scripted 2-h highway commute.
Summary Report of Wind Farm Data: September 2008

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) began a project to collect wind power plant output data from several large commercial wind plants during the spring of 2000. This data is summarized in this report.
Grafting byin situ coupling of epoxy groups of a living copolymer with an anionic living polymer

A tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution of the living random copolymer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was prepared by the living anionic copolymerization of the two monomers, using 1,1-diphenylhexyllithium (DPHLi) as initiator, in the presence of LiCl ([LiCl]/[DPHLi] 0 = 3), at -50°C. The copolymer thus obtained has a controlled composition and molecular weight and a narrow molecular weight distribution. By introduction of an anionic living polystyrene (poly(St)) or anionic living polyisoprene (poly(Is)) solution into the above system at -30°C, a coupling reaction took place and a graft copolymer with a polar backbone and nonpolar side chains was produced. The solvent used in the preparation of the living poly(St) or poly(Is) affects the coupling reaction. When benzene was the solvent, a graft copolymer of high purity, controlled graft number and molecular weight, and narrow molecular weight distribution (M w /M n = 1.11-1.21) was obtained. In the coupling reaction, the living poly(St) reacted only with the epoxy groups and not with the carbonyls of the backbone polymer.
Bereavement, Gender, and Cyberspace: A Content Analysis of Parents' Memorials to Their Children

The study investigated how two distinct perspectives apply to the role of gender in parents' memorials on The Compassionate Friends (TCF) electronic bulletin board; cyberspace as merely a mirror of societal gendered patterns of bereavement, and cyberspace as a medium or context in which societal gendered patterns of bereavement are neutralized. Data were evaluated to determine to what extent gender differences exist concerning instrumental versus intuitive styles of bereavement. Analytic categories used in assessing gender differences in parental bereavement style included the following: invoking spirituality, directing messages to the deceased, artistic expressions, and special powers accorded to the deceased. With some exceptions, the findings supported the perspective emphasizing the gender neutralizing aspects of cyberspace parental bereavement for the population studied.
Constructing citizenship in the shadow state

Abstract This article addresses the contributions of local community-based nonprofit organizations to the construction of citizenship through three different examples of state–organization interaction in Minneapolis–St. Paul to integrate migrants into American society. These examples stand for broader questions about how shadow state relationships affect the shape and scale of citizenship relations to which organizations contribute. The article focuses empirically on how organizations enact state rules and resources in providing services to migrants. The conclusions are directed toward theorizing the kinds of shadow state relationships that contribute to nationally inclusive visions of citizenship as well as alternative, subnational visions of citizenship.
Stitch: A language for architecture-based self-adaptation

Requirements for high availability in computing systems today demand that systems be self-adaptive to maintain expected qualities-of-service in the presence of system faults, variable environmental conditions, and changing user requirements. Autonomic computing tackles the challenge of automating tasks that humans would otherwise have to perform to achieve this goal. However, existing approaches to autonomic computing lack the ability to capture routine human repair tasks in a way that takes into account the business context humans use in selecting an appropriate form of adaptation, while dealing with timing delays and uncertainties in outcome of repair actions. In this article, we present Stitch, a language for representing repair strategies within the context of an architecture-based self-adaptation framework. Stitch supports the explicit representation of repair decision trees together with the ability to express business objectives, allowing a self-adaptive system to select a strategy that has optimal utility in a given context, even in the presence of potential timing delays and outcome uncertainty.
Amino acid composition of whole body, egg and selected tissues of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

The amino acid composition of whole bodies, muscle, gill, gastrointestinal tract, liver, eggs, vitellogenin and lipovitellin of hatchery-raised white sturgeon was determined. The essential amino acid ratios (AE ratios) of the whole body, muscle and eggs were calculated and found to be significantly (P < 0.05) different, but the whole body amino acid composition of sturgeon of four different sizes (19.5 ± 0.4, 57.8 ± 0.9, 179.5 ± 0.3 and 535.4 ± 9.7 g; mean ± s.e., n = 3) was found to be very similar. Muscle contained significantly higher concentrations of histidine and lysine, and liver had the highest levels of cystine and the branched-chain amino acids. Gills contained the lowest isoleucine, leucine and valine but were significantly higher in glycine and proline. Differences were also observed between the amino acid composition of sturgeon eggs, vitellogenin and lipovitellin. The AE ratios will provide a valuable index for formulating amino acid test diets and for screening potential protein sources for white sturgeon.
Low-power density wireless powering for battery-less sensors

This paper presents an overview of far-field wireless powering for low-power wireless sensors. With expected RF power densities in the 20 to 200μW/cm2 range, and desired small sensor overall size, low-power non-directive wireless powering is appropriate for sensors that transmit data at low duty cycles. The sensor platform is powered through an antenna which receives incident electromagnetic waves in the GHz frequency range, couples the energy to a rectifier circuit which charges a storage device (e.g. thin-film battery) through an efficient power management circuit, and the entire platform, is controlled through a low-power micro-controller. For low incident power density levels, co-design of the RF powering and the power management circuits is required for optimal performance. Results are presented with integrated antenna-rectifiers operating in the 2-GHz cellular band with over 50% efficiency for an incident power density of 75μW/cm2.