cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of silver nanoparticles on human and rat embryonic neural stem cells

Silver nano-particles (Ag-NPs) are becoming increasingly prevalent in consumer products as antibacterial agents. The increased use of Ag NP-enhanced products will almost certainly increase environmental silver levels, resulting in increased exposures and the potential for increased adverse reactions including neurotoxic effects. In the present study, embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) from human and rat fetuses (gestational day-16) were used to determine whether Ag-NPs are capable of causing developmental neurotoxicity. The NSCs were cultured in serum free medium supplemented with appropriate growth factors. On the eighth day in vitro (DIV 8), the cells were exposed to Ag-NPs at concentrations of 1, 5, 10, and 20 µg/ml for 24 hours. The cultured cells then were characterized by NSC markers including nestin and SOX2 and a variety of assays were utilized to determine the effects of Ag-NPs on NSC proliferation and viability and the underlying mechanisms associated with these effects. The results indicate that mitochondrial viability (MTT metabolism) was substantially attenuated and LDH release was increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner. Ag-NPs-induced neurotoxicity was further confirmed by up-regulated Bax protein expression, an increased number of TUNEL-positively stained cells, and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS). NSC proliferation was also significantly decreased by Ag-NPs. Co-administration of acetyl-L-carnitine, an antioxidant agent, effectively blocked the adverse effects associated with Ag-NP exposure.
Antibiotic susceptibility of bacteria associated with endodontic abscesses

Antibiotics to treat endodontic infections are routinely prescribed based on previously published susceptibility tests. There is increased concern that bacteria have increased resistance to the currently recommended antibiotics. The purpose of this investigation was to perform antibiotic susceptibility tests on a panel of bacteria recently isolated from endodontic infections. The bacteria in this study were aseptically aspirated with a needle from endodontic abscesses, cultivated, and identified at the species level. Each of the 98 species of bacteria was tested for antibiotic susceptibility to a panel of six antibiotics using the Etest. The antibiotics were penicillin V, amoxicillin, amoxicillin + clavulanic acid, clindamycin, metronidazole, and clarithromycin. The percentages of susceptibility for the 98 species were penicillin V: 83/98 (85%), amoxicillin: 89/98 (91%), amoxicillin + clavulanic acid: 98/98 (100%), clindamycin: 94/98 (96%), and metronidazole: 44/98 (45%). Metronidazole had the greatest amount of bacterial resistance; however, if it is used in combination with penicillin V or amoxicillin, susceptibility of the combination with penicillin V or amoxicillin increased to 93% and 99%, respectively. Clarithromycin seems to have efficacy, but it is still considered an antibiotic under investigation because the minimum inhibitory concentration has not been established.
Panic attacks, complex partial seizures, and multiple meningiomas

A 39-year-old woman presented with typical panic disorder symptoms of two years duration. Imipramine (IMI) treatment yielded complete remission of her symptoms for three years. At that time, however, her symptoms recurred. Neither increasing the IMI dose nor an adequate trial of fluoxetine controlled her symptoms., Further history revealed subtle changes in her symptoms suggestive of complex partial seizures. Scalp EEG was normal, but an MRI revealed multiple meningiomas. Her symptoms remitted completely on carbamazepine. This case illustrates the phenomenologic overlap between panic attacks and complex partial seizures, and a neuroanatomic overlap between the two syndromes is hypothesized. Anxiety 1:40-42 (1994). © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Object Recognition for Orange Construction Barrels using Color Segmentation

The problem of safe navigation and object recognition in autonomous vehicles will become increasingly important as more of these vehicles take to the road. To be viable, autonomous vehicles must process road and vehicle information as rapidly and as accurately (or more accurately than) human drivers. Among the challenges for autonomous vehicles is the need to identify and deal with potential hazards such as lines, barrels, potholes, and construction barrels in the roadway. Orange and white-striped barrels, a common indicator of construction, present a particular problem for systems electronically processing information. To identify orange construction barrels, this paper proposes using a general color relationship which would be more versatile and faster than full or partial color segmentation. In addition, the paper offers a methodology that presents a significant cost savings over traditional LADAR systems.
Altimeter Data Evaluation in the Coastal Gulf of Maine and Mid-Atlantic Bight Regions

Satellite altimeter sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) data accuracy and applications are rapidly maturing over the open ocean, but more attention is required where continental shelves and marginal seas are concerned. Refined radar range measurement correction approaches are needed to enhance the quality of coastal altimeter SSHA data and to enhance the potential impact that altimeter data can play in improved ocean circulation modeling and prediction. This study provides a regional assessment of satellite altimeter SSHA data from the Jason-2, Jason-1, and TOPEX/Poseidon data sets collected over the Northwest Atlantic coastal region of the United States. The validation approach follows recent studies in numerous shelf regions to address changes from standard or default data quality flagging scheme that can enhance satellite altimeter SSHA data recovery, optimal choice of de-aliasing corrections in deriving subtidal sea level time series, and validation of altimeter data using in situ tide gauge and current...
Migration and Redistribution of the Elderly: A Challenge to Community Services

PIP: This article analyzes regional migration and redistribution patterns of the elderly in the United States for the 1960s and 1970s, assesses motives for elderly migration, and examines the implications of elderly migration for community services. The elderly population has increased in size 54.2% from 1960 to 1980 and will increase even more by natural increase as the baby boom ages. Although the elderly are less prone to migrate than younger age groups, their two major migration trends are a movement form the Northeast and Midwest to Sunbelt states and turnaround urban-rural migration. A redistribution index shows elderly redistribution as 3.41% for the U.S., with elderly populations growing consistently in the South and West since 1960 and in the East South Central since 1970. Younger elderly tend to move at retirement to Sunbelt states. They are similar to nonmigrant younger elderly in their communities but have greater income, education, and housing ownership, which provides a short-term advantage for communities. Older elderly are more likely to move for assistance from family or to return to a former home. The elderly have a proportionately much higher use of health services (including hospital stays and doctors' visits), nursing homes, and day care centers. Numbers of younger and older elderly per nursing home bed and adult day care center space is shown by region. The North Central has the best services in proportion to population, and the South is strongly deficient in nursing home beds. Despite recent increases in the elderly population in the South and West, they still have less than their share of elderly. Although the migration of younger elderly to the South and West has been beneficial to the communities so far, as younger elderly age, they may need far more intensive community services than now exist.
The Neglected Climatic Hazards of the Caribbean: Overview and Prospects in a Warmer Climate

The Caribbean is a region that experiences a wide range of climatic hazards: tropical waves, tropical cyclones, frontal storms, convective thunderstorms, and meteorological drought. Despite the influence of all of these climatic hazards on the Caribbean region, one climatic hazard, tropical cyclones (including tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes), dominates the hazards research and literature with little attention given to the other climatic hazards (non-tropical heavy rains, orographic precipitation, and meteorological drought). The purpose of this review article is to address such a bias in the literature by providing an overview of Caribbean climatic hazards not related to tropical cyclones (non-tropical storms, orographic precipitation, and meteorological drought) and discuss the potential impact of climate change upon these hazards. Because the impact of a future warm climate is not limited to tropical cyclones alone, mitigation and adaption efforts should strive to address the entire spectrum of Caribbean climatic hazards.
Wide-area route control for online services

Accelerated by on-demand computing, the number and diversity of the Internet services is increasing. Such online services often have unique requirements for the underlying wide-area network: For instance, online gaming service might benefit from low delay and jitter paths to client, while online data backup service might benefit from cheaper paths. Unfortunately, today’s Internet does not accommodate fine-grained, service-specific wide-area route control. In this dissertation, I achieve the following goals: 1) improve the access to the routes, 2) quantify the benefits of fine-grained route control, and 3) evaluate the efficiency of current payment schemes for the wide-area routes. • Improving access to wide-area route control. Online services face significant technological and procedural hurdles in accessing the routes: Each service in need to control the Internet routes, has to obtain own equipment, Internet numbered resources, and establish contracts with upstream ISPs. In this dissertation, I propose and describe implementation and deployment of a secure and scalable system which provides on-demand access to the Internet routes. In setting such as cloud data center, the system can support multiple online services, providing each service with an illusion of direct connectivity to the neighboring Internet networks, which, for all practical purposes, allows services to participate fully in the Internet routing. • Quantifying the benefits of fine-grained route control. Even if online services are presented with wide-area route choice, it is not clear how much tangible benefit such choice provides. Most modern Online Service Providers (OSP) rely primarily on the content routing to improve network performance between the clients and the replicas. In this dissertation, I quantify the potential benefit the OSPs can gain if they perform a joint network and content routing. Among other findings, I find that by performing xv joint content and network routing, OSPs can achieve 22% larger latency reduction than can be obtained by content routing alone. • Modeling and evaluating the efficiency of the current payment schemes for widearea routes. Finally, increasing diversity and sophistication of the online services participating in the Internet routing poses a challenge to payment models used in today’s Internet. Service providers today charge business customers a blended rate: a single, “average” price for unit of bandwidth, without regard to cost or value of individual customer’s flows. In my dissertation, I set to understand how efficient this payment model is and if more granular payment model, accounting for the cost and value of different flows could increase the ISP profit and the consumer surplus. I develop an econometric demand and cost model and map three real-world ISP data sets to it. I find that ISPs can indeed improve the economic efficiency with just a few pricing tiers.
At the heart of the statin benefit.

Almost since they were first introduced, statin drugs have been recognized to have effects beyond their potent low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-lowering abilities. These “pleitropic” effects include anti-inflammatory, vascular, and immune-altering properties ([1][1]). Their existence has led to
Disentangling the Attitude from the Behavior: Toward a Multi-Stage Model of Nativism and Immigration Policy Preferences

There is a growing body of research investigating the determinants of nativist attitudes and immigration policy preferences among the American public. Most studies, however, tend to conflate nativism, the opinion that the American way of life needs to be protected against foreign influence, with conservative immigration preferences. In this study, I argue that the attitude (nativism) is theoretically distinct from the behavior (immigration policy attitudes) and should be operationalized and modeled as such. Using a multivariate analysis of public opinion survey data, I then design and test a multi-stage model of immigration policy preferences, employing nativism as the key intervening variable. The principle findings are that nativism does indeed influence immigration policy preferences in the United States, but to no greater extent than anti-Hispanic prejudice or political conservatism. Furthermore, it is shown that there is a great deal of heterogeneity in the determinants of attitudes toward different immigration- and immigrant-related policies. This study also discusses implications for the debate about symbolic racism and racial public policy preferences in the United States.
Possibilities of cooperation czech and austrian borderland

The Czech and Slovak borderland is similar to each other concerning geomorphology, but it differs in an economical way. This article shows with the help of SWOT analysis some differences and shows also some reserves in the economical activities of the Austrian and Czech borderland. It shows the disponibility of some productive features in coexistence with the existing and required future mutual economic cooperation.
Studying One's Own: The Asian Indian Students as Consumers in USA

In this autoethnographic study, I examine how immigrant Indian students go through acculturation through negotiating their consumption experiences in the first few months of their sojourn in USA. Through intensive fieldwork spanning four months, which included immersive participant observation, interview, reflection, and analysis, insights were gained about the essence of the consumer experience as a student/immigrant in USA. Three themes are highlighted – overwhelming abundance, camaraderie in consumption, and anchoring to the familiar. These themes are discussed in the background of their overall acculturation experience.
Double‐Frequency Microseisms in Ambient Noise Recorded in Mississippi

Abstract This research presents the power spectral density (PSD) of double‐frequency (DF) microseisms of 13 continuous single‐point long‐term ambient noise recordings (LTRs) at five inland and two coastal locations selected in Mississippi and Louisiana states and 234 single‐point short‐term ambient noise recordings (STRs) in northern Mississippi. By correlating PSD of LTRs with the simultaneous ocean data (including significant ocean wave frequency, significant ocean wave height, ocean wind speed, and above‐ocean atmosphere pressure) of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, as well as local atmosphere pressure and wind speed, DF microseisms observed in northern Mississippi were shown to be shaped by a combined impact of both wave climates of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Particle motion analysis and calculation of vibration angle defined separately for LTRs and STRs strengthen this conclusion. The DF and PSD level at DF of STR plots in the horizontal direction versus unconsolidated sediment thickness show significant differences from the plots in the vertical direction, which indicates that the shear‐wave resonance in thick sediments modifies the DF microseisms more obviously in the horizontal than in the vertical direction.
Borrower Risk Signaling Using Loan-to-Value Ratios

This paper evaluates the signaling capability of the borrower's selected loan-to-value ratio, and finds the equity proportion of housing capital to be a good indicator of the loan's riskiness. It a...
Control of mitochondrial integrity in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder associated with a loss of dopaminergic neurons. The role of mitochondria in the aetiology of PD has been questioned for decades, mostly from the perspective of bioenergetic failure. For decades, a deficit in mitochondrial respiration was thought to be a key factor in PD neurodegeneration. However, excluding a few exceptions where a clinical picture of parkinsonism is associated with a mitochondrial DNA mutation, preclinical and clinical studies have failed to identify any genetic mutations in the genes encoding for the electron transport chain complexes in PD patients. More recently, it has been discovered that mutations in the genes encoding for Parkin, PINK1 (PTEN-induced putative kinase-1) and DJ-1 are associated with familial forms of PD and with mitochondrial alterations, including morphological abnormalities. These results have led many researchers to revisit the question of mitochondrial biology as a primary mechanism in PD pathogenesis, this time from an angle of perturbation in mitochondrial dynamics and not from the angle of a deficit in respiration.
Efficacy of preoperative bowel preparation at home.

A preliminary study was designed to determine whether preoperative bowel preparation for colorectal surgery could be performed safely at home. Medical charts of 62 patients covering 4 years of elective major colorectal surgery done by a single general surgeon were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into four groups, depending on the year in which they had surgery. Each patient had been given an easy-to-understand instruction sheet as well as prescriptions for mannitol solution, neomycin, and erythromycin base. The changeover from hospital-based to home-based bowel cleansing was gradual. In the first year of the study, all patients had bowel preparation in hospital ; in the final year, 88% of patients had bowel cleansing at home. Home bowel preparation resulted in no identifiable increase in morbidity or mortality. No death or wound infection occurred in any patient group. Preoperative home bowel preparation can be done safely by the patient without increased morbidity or mortality. Ordering this preparation for most colorectal surgery patients could save about $150 million in hospital costs per year in the United States.
Postcesarean endometritis: Clinical risk factors predictive of positive blood cultures

OBJECTIVE To identify peripartum risk factors that are predictive of positive blood cultures in patients with postcesarean endometritis. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective review of 179 patients diagnosed with postcesarean endometritis was conducted. Patients with positive and negative blood cultures obtained at the time of diagnosis were compared. Patient's charts were reviewed for intrapartum, intraoperative and postpartum factors. Chi-square and nonpaired Student's tests were used when appropriate, with P or = 38.8 degrees C, 9/42 (21.4%) had a positive blood culture (P or = 38.8 degrees C. CONCLUSION The traditional practice of obtaining blood cultures at a temperature > or = 38.0 degrees C is not justified but elevating the threshold to 38.8 degrees C is equally effective and less costly.
Left aortic arch with right descending aorta and right ligamentum arteriosum: A rare form of vascular ring

The combination of left aortic arch, right descending aorta, and right patent ductus arteriosus is a rare form of aortic arch anomaly. Only 11 such cases have been previously reported. A 6-month-old infant with this anomaly manifested severe respiratory difficulty and feeding problems in the early newborn period. The aortic arch abnormalities were confirmed by angiocardiography, and operative correction was successful. This is the first case reported in which the patient developed severe respiratory and feeding difficulties due to this type of a vascular ring.
Reflected Light Microscopic Study of the Mineralogy and Textures of Experimental Nickel Concentrate Reactions with Slag

Reflected light microscopy was used to study the mineralogy and textures of experimental reactions ofa nickel concentrate with a slag. Such an interaction is an important step in the bath smelting of nickel sulfide concentrate. Concentrate particles in the central portions of the pellets are rounded and develop vermicular SO 2 gas porosity. In the outer portions of the pellets, the original minerals of the concentrate, i. e., pyrrhotite, pentlandite, pyrite, chalcopyrite and violarite, have agglomerated and reacted to form two intergrown phases: pyrrhotite solid solution (Fe 0 75Ni0 1 8 Cu 0 . 0 1 S) and pentlandite solid solution (Fe 0 . 5 8 Ni 0 . 5 1 Cu 0 . 0 3 S). Magnetite formed euhedral crystals, skeletal crystals and dendrites at the margins of the matte. Prismatic ferrohypersthene and octahedral Mg-Al-Fe spinel crystals and dendrites are present in the glassy slag.
Nonexclusion of Paternity Due to a Silent (?) Allele

The initial results of a paternity study showed an apparent exclusion in the Duffy (Fy) system. The possible presence of a silent allele or of a low-incidence antigen was considered to investigate a potential nonexclusion. Titration studies performed to detect a silent allele were not helpful. Absorption/ elution tests demonstrated the presence of a Fyx antigen, which did not agglutinate with standard reagents. This weak variant of the Fyb antigen was detected in the alleged grandfather, as well as in the child. It was concluded that the alleged father was the true biologic father of the child and that a Fyx gene present in the grandfather was passed by the father to his daughter.
Utilizing Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with Families Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACTAutism Spectrum Disorder is a growing phenomenon impacting the lives of children and their families. Although resources in the medical community exist for individuals dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder, systemic psychotherapy resources for families are lacking. This article discusses the challenges that families coping with Autism Spectrum Disorder possess as well as their strengths. Solution-focused brief therapy is offered as a resource-based systemic approach to helping Autism Spectrum Disorder families. This article provides an overview of solution-focused brief therapy approach, a rationale for using it with Autism Spectrum Disorder families, and an example transcript of applying the model.
Single-hop and multi-hop delay characteristics of ad-hoc 802.11b wireless network

Wireless networks have experienced fast deployments and fast user population growth. Understanding the delay characteristics can help us to correctly evaluate the performance of wireless networks. In this paper, we will analyze the delay performance of single-hop and multi-hop ad-hoc IEEE 802.11b wireless network based on testbed experiments. The influence of contention and RTS/CTS are investigated. Through capturing and analyzing all the on-the-fly IEEE 802.11b packets, we will compare and report our experiment results.
Secretory immunity of the prostate gland

We investigated the immune response of the prostate to bacteriuria and bacteria prostatitis. In men with no histories of urinary tract infection the ratio of IgG:IgA in the expressed prostatic secretions was less than in the serum; most of the IgA was in the secretory form, and immunoglobulin directed against bacterial antigen was almost never detectable. In contrast antibacterial IgG and IgA were usually detectable in the expressed prostatic secretions of men with recent bacteriuria or bacterial prostatitis. The results of quantitative assays for antibacterial immunoglobulin in the expressed prostatic secretions and serum were consistent with local synthesis and secretion of antibacterial IgA. The immune response of the prostate to bacterial infection has the characteristics of secretory immunity.
Scientific Modeling: A Multilevel Feedback Process

Model construction is one of the key scientific activities. In distinction to the majority of the previous machine discovery systems, model formation applies in theory-rich context. Our long-term goal is automation of model construction. This paper reports on exploratory work towards that goal. We start from the distinction between models and theories, which is critical to the presented approach. We also distinguish between modeling and two scientific activities, which are different but which support modeling: construction of operational definitions and experimentation. Then we present the basic steps of scientific model construction, outlining data structures and an algorithm which, using a number of feedback loops, incrementally develops a model of a natural phenomenon. A walk through example is used to present the algorithm: motion of a cylinder that rolls downwards on an inclined plane.
Sleep disturbance in people with diabetes: A concept analysis.

Aims and objectives To clarify the meaning of sleep disturbance in people with diabetes and examine its antecedents, attributes and consequences through concept analysis. Background Sleep is crucial for health, and people with diabetes are frequently beset with disturbances in their sleep. The concept of sleep disturbance in people with diabetes has not been clearly defined. The inconsistent use of sleep disturbance has created confusion and impeded our understanding of the sleep in people with diabetes. This analysis will provide a conceptual foundation of sleep disturbance in diabetes, thereby facilitating more effective means for assessment and treatment. Design Concept analysis. Methods A systematic search without time restriction on the publication year was carried out using PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Rodgers's method of evolutionary concept analysis guided the analysis. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to identify the attributes, antecedents and consequences. Results Based on the 26 eligible studies, two major attributes are that sleep disturbance is a symptom and is characterised by impaired sleep quality and/or abnormal sleep duration. Two antecedents are diabetes-related physiological change and psychological well-being. Sleep disturbance can result in impaired daytime functioning, glucose regulation and quality of life. Conclusions Defining the concept of sleep disturbance in people with diabetes facilitates consistent use and effective communication in both practice and research. Sleep disturbance in people with diabetes is a complex symptom that includes impaired sleep quality and/or abnormal sleep duration. This paper contributes to the current knowledge of sleep in people with diabetes. Future research on antecedents and consequences of sleep disturbance is necessary for further clarifications. Relevance to clinical practice Findings from this paper underscore the need for nursing education, clinical assessment and effective management of sleep disturbance in people with diabetes.
Time-Frequency Reward-Related Delta Prospectively Predicts the Development of Adolescent-Onset Depression

Abstract Background A blunted reward positivity (RewP), an event-related potential elicited by feedback indicating monetary gain relative to loss, was recently shown to prospectively predict the development of adolescent-onset depression. Time-frequency–based representations of this activity (e.g., reward-related delta) have also been associated with depression. This study is a reanalysis of the time-domain RewP investigation to examine the incremental value of time-frequency indices in the prediction of adolescent-onset depression. Methods The sample included 444 13- to 15-year-old girls with no lifetime history of a depressive disorder. At baseline, adolescents completed a monetary guessing task, and both time-domain and time-frequency analyses were conducted on the event-related potential response to gain and loss feedback. Lifetime psychiatric history in the adolescent and a biological parent were evaluated with diagnostic interviews, and adolescents’ current depressive symptoms were assessed using a self-report questionnaire. Adolescents were interviewed again approximately 18 months later to identify first-onset depressive disorder. Results Blunted reward-related delta predicted first-onset depressive disorder 18 months later, independent of the time-domain RewP and psychosocial risk factors (i.e., adolescent baseline depressive symptoms, adolescent and parental psychiatric history). In contrast, loss-related theta did not predict the development of depression. Reward-related delta increased sensitivity (73.8% to 82.8%) and positive predictive value (45.0% to 70.9%) for first-onset depressive disorder when applied in parallel and in series, respectively, with baseline depressive symptoms and the time-domain RewP. Conclusions This study provides evidence that frequency-based representations of event-related potentials provide incremental value in the prediction of psychiatric disorders.
Clinical Features, Antibiotic Susceptibilities, and Treatment Outcomes of Endophthalmitis Caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis

Purpose To report the clinical features, antibiotic susceptibilities, and visual acuity outcomes with endophthalmitis caused by methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus epidermidis and methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis. Design Retrospective case series. Participants All patients seeking treatment at a tertiary referral center between 2006 and 2016 with endophthalmitis caused by S. epidermidis. Methods All records were reviewed for patients with a clinical diagnosis of endophthalmitis and positive vitreous culture results for S. epidermidis. Data were compared with the prior series at the same institution. Main Outcome Measures Clinical settings, antibiotic susceptibilities, and visual acuity. Results Among 96 eyes of 96 patients, the most common postprocedural clinical settings were cataract surgery (47/96 [49%]), intravitreal injection (21/96 [22%]), trauma (8/96 [8%]), glaucoma surgery (7/96 [7%]), and penetrating keratoplasty (5/96 [5%]). The initial treatment included intravitreal vancomycin and ceftazidime in 89 of 96 eyes (93%) and intravitreal vancomycin and amikacin in 7 of 96 eyes (7%). A vitreous tap and injection with antibiotics was performed as the initial treatment in 83 of 96 eyes (86%) and pars plana vitrectomy was performed in 13 of 96 eyes (14%). All isolates were sensitive to vancomycin in both decades. In the most recent series, visual acuity at last follow-up was 5/200 or better in 68 of 96 eyes (71%) compared with 71 of 86 eyes (83%) in the prior study. In the current study, susceptibility to methicillin and moxifloxacin was present in 45 of 96 eyes (47%) and 29 of 85 eyes (34%), respectively, compared with 34 of 86 eyes (40%) and 27 of 39 eyes (69%) in the prior study. Final visual acuity was not significantly different between those eyes that were methicillin or fluoroquinolone sensitive and those that were resistant. Conclusions In the current and prior series, all S. epidermidis isolates were sensitive to vancomycin. Visual acuity outcomes were not dependent on methicillin or fluoroquinolone sensitivity.
Numerical study of heat transfer enhancement using transverse microchannels in a heat sink

Abstract In this study, the heat transfer enhancement through the use of transverse microchannels in a heat sink is investigated systematically by numerical simulations. The heat transfer in both fluid and solid regions are modeled by a three-dimensional conjugate heat transfer approach. The effects of various parameters, such as the height and density (number) of transverse microchannels and Reynolds numbers, on the pressure drop, temperature distribution and heat transfer rate inside the heat sink are investigated. The results indicate that the temperature distribution and the location of hotspots are dependent on the number and size of transverse microchannels at different Reynolds numbers. Effects of various parameters on the figure of merit for the transverse microchannels are also presented, and correlations for prediction of the friction factor and Nusselt number have been proposed within the investigated parameter ranges.
Mandatory Passthrough Taxation for Non-Publicly Traded Businesses?

Should passthrough taxation be made mandatory for all businesses whose equity is not publicly traded? In the current tax policy environment, every business that is or becomes a non-publicly traded business has access to passthrough taxation, but not without — in some cases — significant tax costs. Employing a perspective that corporate tax integration is desirable and should be encouraged, this article examines whether passthrough tax treatment should be made mandatory for such companies. In the end, the answer is no; it should not be made mandatory. However, the exercise of answering the question highlights several incremental tax law reforms that could be adopted to advance the project of corporate tax integration.
Redefining Prevention and Care: A Status-Neutral Approach to HIV

Recent biomedical advances inspire hope that an end to the epidemic of HIV is in sight. Adopting new approaches and paradigms for treatment and prevention in terms of both messaging and programming is a priority to accelerate progress. Defining the key sequential steps that comprise engagement in HIV care has provided a useful framework for clinical programs and motivated quality improvement initiatives. Recently, the same approach has been applied to use of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention. Building on the various prevention and care continua previously proposed, we present a novel schematic that incorporates both people living with HIV and people at risk, making it effectively "status-neutral" in that it proposes the same approach for engagement, regardless of one's HIV status. This multidirectional continuum begins with an HIV test and offers 2 divergent paths depending on the results; these paths end at a common final state. To illustrate how this continuum can be utilized for program planning as well as for monitoring, we provide an example using data for New York City men who have sex with men, a population with high HIV incidence and prevalence.
Perception of non-native clear speech: The gap between speakers’ effort and actual increase in intelligibility

Non-native speakers are less effective at increasing intelligibility in clear speech than native speakers. However, examining only intelligibility may not fully address how non-native clear speech is perceived by listeners. We examined native English listeners’ perception of non-native English speakers’ clear speech in terms of intelligibility, comprehensibility, and speakers’ effort. Non-native English speakers produced English sentences in conversational and clear speaking styles. These productions were evaluated by 117 native English listeners. In an intelligibility task, listeners typed what they heard. In two rating tasks, listeners heard the same sentence produced by the same speaker in both a conversational and a clear speaking style. One group of listeners were asked to choose the sentence that was easier to understand (comprehensibility). Another group of listeners were asked to choose the sentence that the speaker was trying to say more clearly (speakers’ effort). The results showed that conversational-clear modifications did not result in increased intelligibility or comprehensibility. However, the rating task showed that listeners were sensitive to the speakers’ effort in the clear speaking style. These results suggest that non-native speakers’ effort to speak clearly may not necessarily result in intelligibility gains, but listeners may still be sensitive to this effort.Non-native speakers are less effective at increasing intelligibility in clear speech than native speakers. However, examining only intelligibility may not fully address how non-native clear speech is perceived by listeners. We examined native English listeners’ perception of non-native English speakers’ clear speech in terms of intelligibility, comprehensibility, and speakers’ effort. Non-native English speakers produced English sentences in conversational and clear speaking styles. These productions were evaluated by 117 native English listeners. In an intelligibility task, listeners typed what they heard. In two rating tasks, listeners heard the same sentence produced by the same speaker in both a conversational and a clear speaking style. One group of listeners were asked to choose the sentence that was easier to understand (comprehensibility). Another group of listeners were asked to choose the sentence that the speaker was trying to say more clearly (speakers’ effort). The results showed that convers...
Real Men: Foreskin Cutting and Male Identity in the Philippines1

Most Filipino boys submit to foreskin cutting as an essential experience in the transition from childhood to adulthood. Usually this means not circumcision but supercision, which consists of a single dorsal incision with relatively minimal tissue destruction. As a further important contrast to the situation in the United States and other Anglophone countries, in the Philippines foreskin cutting is seldom touted for its ostensible medical benefits; rather, the practice is embedded in broadly accepted social norms connected with male identity, social maturity, and sexual acceptability. Moreover, although beliefs about cleanliness are part of the picture, the dominant theme is not foreskin rejection but penis improvement, and the anticipated reward is not disease prevention but social acceptance as a properly formed man. There is good evidence that supercision is an indigenous practice that long antedated the arrival of either Christian or Muslim missionaries, and that although Islamic circumcision replaced the older practice, the Christian population retained supercision. Filipino beliefs about foreskin cutting correspond closely with those of Polynesians, who also practice supercision. In all these societies, foreskin cutting is so firmly embedded in entire cultural systems that it will probably endure until the cultures themselves change radically.
The impacts of policies to reduce CO2 emissions within the concrete supply chain

Abstract The production of concrete is a significant source of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that contribute to climate change. Many technical solutions exist for reducing emissions along the concrete supply chain. However, wide scale adoption of these technologies is hindered by a market failure – the cost of greenhouse gas emissions is not adequately reflected in cement and concrete transactions. Here, we compare three instruments meant to correct this critical market failure, including: 1) carbon-pricing policies, such as carbon taxes and cap-and-trade programs; 2) command and control policies; and 3) voluntary incentives. We evaluate each policy instrument for its capacity to reduce emissions cost effectively, guarantee emission reductions, spur technological innovation, and generate revenue. Our analysis shows that these criteria favor carbon pricing policies. However, cement and concrete markets are often concentrated and trade exposed. Therefore, regulators should design pricing policies that both combat leakage and do not limit production below socially optimal levels.
Non-hormonal Chemoprevention

Potential strategies for prevention of breast cancer include lifestyle modification, preventive therapies (i.e., chemoprevention), and surgical prevention. Several therapies (such as selective estrogen response modifiers and aromatase inhibitors) have been shown to prevent breast cancer. However, tolerability and toxicity limit use and these therapies only prevent estrogen receptor–positive (ER) disease. There is emerging data regarding prevention properties of several non-hormonal agents. These agents generally have lower toxicities and seem to be effective for reduction of both ER+ and ER− disease and are often approved for use in other diseases. The purpose of this review is to discuss the data supporting the potential role of these non-hormonal agents for breast cancer prevention. Several studies have demonstrated the potential of aspirin, vitamin D, metformin, and bisphosphonates to prevent breast cancer. The outlined studies support biological mechanisms and show epidemiologic associations but randomized controlled trials are necessary before any of these agents can be recommended for breast cancer prevention. Given the wide spread use of these agents, significant consideration to trial design is needed (i.e., focus on high-risk populations and use of biomarker endpoints). Another important consideration may be the investigation of combinations of agents as suggested by others.
Privacy and Security

This column delves into privacy risks of the IoT using risk concepts that are more native to the security domain in order to conceptually bridge our collective understanding, articulation, and management of privacy concerns in the IoT which otherwise might not be sufficiently considered or foreseen by existing legal and technical controls. It has become almost cliche that the so called Internet of Things (IoT) means different things to different people. When it comes to privacy and security risks, what is implicit across the myriad conceptualizations of IoT lies the key to unearthing why IoT risk heralds a difference with a distinction compared to traditional offline and online contexts. Critics of an exceptionalist view of IoT risk might contend that the IoT is really just distributed computing on steroids, i.e., the IoT is merely a relabeling and repackaging of technologies past like client-server, web services, SoA, mobile, virtualization, and distributed computing, which means that risk management is merely an exercise in grafting the decades-long understanding of privacy and security from those familiar contexts onto the IoT. Without getting into a religious debate, it is incontrovertible that there are advances in the quality and quantity of data collection from IoT technologies as opposed to previous generations of technology, and these are driven by real and prospective socioeconomic value propositions.
A constrained portfolio trading system using particle swarm algorithm and recurrent reinforcement learning

Abstract This study extends a recurrent reinforcement portfolio allocation and rebalancing management system with complex portfolio constraints using particle swarm algorithms. In particular, we propose to use a combination of recurrent reinforcement learning (RRL) and particle swarm algorithm (PSO) with Calmar ratio for both asset allocation and constraint optimization. Using S&P100 index stocks, we show such a system with a Calmar ratio based objective function yields a better efficient frontier than the Sharpe ratio and mean-variance based portfolios. By comparing with multiple PSO based long only constrained portfolios, we propose an optimal portfolio trading system that is capable of generating both long and short signals and handling the common portfolio constraints. We further develop an adaptive RRL-PSO portfolio rebalancing decision system with a market condition stop-loss retraining mechanism, and we show that the proposed portfolio trading system outperforms the benchmarks consistently especially under high transaction cost conditions.
In Their Own Voice: Reclaiming the Value of Liberal Arts at Community Colleges

Twenty years ago, when I was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, I had a lab class where I was assigned a random partner. Over the semester, I developed a little crush on him. Then one ...
Priming the Well: “Frackademia” and the Corporate Pipeline of Oil and Gas Funding into Higher Education:

While fossil fuel interests have long played a powerful role in shaping American politics and culture, in recent decades, transnational oil and gas companies have formed hundreds of “partnerships” ...
Acetabular Fracture Resulting from a Basketball Cutting Movement in a Young Adult Male: A Case Report.

Case We present the case of a 26-year-old man who sustained a right transverse-posterior wall acetabular fracture while performing a cutting movement playing basketball. Conclusions Acetabular fracture after a relatively low-energy injury in a healthy young adult male is an extremely unusual event. The cutting movement to the right likely forcefully placed the right hip in flexion, adduction, and internal rotation directing the femoral head into the posterior wall. The patient had excellent clinical and radiographic results after acetabular open reduction and internal fixation.
RobustPay: Robust Payment Routing Protocol in Blockchain-based Payment Channel Networks

The past decade has witnessed an explosive growth in cryptocurrencies, but the blockchain-based cryptocurrencies have also raised many concerns, among which a crucial one is the scalability issue. Suffering from the large overhead of global consensus and security assurance, even the leading cryptocurrencies can only handle up to tens of transactions per second, which largely limits their applications in real-world scenarios. Among many proposals to improve the cryptocurrency scalability, one of the most promising and mature solutions is the payment channel network (PCN), which offers the off-chain settlement of transactions with minimal involvement of expensive blockchain operations. However, transaction failures may occur due to external attacks or unexpected conditions, e.g., an uncooperative user becoming unresponsive. In this paper, we present a distributed robust payment routing protocol RobustPay to resist transaction failures, which achieves robustness, efficiency and distributedness. Moreover, we modify the original HTLC protocol and adapt it to the robust payment routing protocol.
Hepatotoxicity associated with Garcinia cambogia: A case report.

Background Herbal supplements (HS) for weight loss are perceived to be "safe" and "natural", as advertised in ads, however, hepatotoxicity can be associated with consumption of some HS. Use of HS may be missed, as the patient may not report these unless specifically asked about these products, since they are often not thought of as medications with potential side effects or interaction potential. Case summary We reported a case of a 21-year-old female with morbid obesity who presented with abdominal pain for 1 wk associated with nausea, vomiting, anorexia and myalgias. She denied smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, usage of illicit drugs, hormonal contraceptives, or energy drinks. There was no significant past medical or family illnesses. Her laboratory workup revealed acute liver failure. The workup for possible etiologies of acute liver failure was unremarkable. She was using a weight loss herbal supplement "Garcinia cambogia" for 4 wks. This case demonstrates the association of acute liver failure with Garcinia cambogia. Conclusion Medical reconciliation of HS should be performed in patients with suspected acute liver failure and early discontinuation of HS can prevent further progression of drug induced hepatoxicity.