cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Temporal and spatial variation of a winter soundscape in south-central Alaska

Winter soundscapes are likely different from soundscapes in other seasons considering wildlife vocalizations (biophony) decrease, wind events (geophony) increase, and winter vehicle noise (technophony) occurs. The temporal variation and spatial relationships of soundscape components to the landscape in winter have not been quantified and described until now. Our objectives were to determine the temporal and spatial variation and acoustic–environmental relationships of a winter soundscape in south-central Alaska. We recorded ambient sounds at 62 locations throughout Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (December 2011–April 2012). We calculated the normalized power spectral density in 59,597 recordings and used machine learning to determine acoustic–environmental relationships and produce spatial models of soundscape components. Geophony was the most prevalent component (84 %) followed by technophony (15 %), and biophony (1 %). Geophony occurred primarily at night, varied little by month, and was strongly associated with lakes. Technophony and biophony had similar temporal variation, peaking in April. Technophony occurred closer to urban areas and at locations with high snowmobile activity. Biophony occurred closer to rivers and was inversely related to snowmobile activity. Over 75 % of sample sites had >1 recordings of airplane or snowmobile noise, mainly in remote areas. The soundscape displayed distinct patterns across 24-h and monthly timeframes. These patterns were strongly associated with land cover variables which demonstrate discrete acoustic–environmental relationships exhibiting distinct spatial patterns in the landscape. Despite the predominance of geophony, the presence of technophony in this winter soundscape may have significant negative effects to wildlife and wilderness quality.
Online Camera Registration for Robot Manipulation

We demonstrate that millimeter-level manipulation accuracy can be achieved without the static camera registration typically required for visual servoing. We register the camera online, converging in seconds, by visually tracking features on the robot and filtering the result. This online registration handles cases such as perturbed camera positions, wear and tear on camera mounts, and even a camera held by a human. We implement the approach on a Schunk LWA4 manipulator and Logitech C920 camera, servoing to target and pre-grasp configurations. Our filtering software is available under a permissive license (Software available at http://github.com/golems/reflex).
Temporal Properties of the Mouse Cone Electroretinogram

To determine the temporal response characteristics of the mouse cone electroretinogram (ERG), we recorded responses to high contrast sinusoidal stimuli ranging from 2 to 52 Hz. The largest response...
Measurement of 5,5-diphenylhydantoin in blood using thin-layer chromatography.

A method for the quantification of 5,5-diphenylhydantoin (DPH) in serum is described. The drug is isolated and identified by thin-layer chromatography following a one-step ether extraction. The DPH is removed from the chromatogram and quantified colorimetrically. Serum levels found by this method were compared with those obtained with a gas chromatography method. An isotope dilution modification which provides more efficient and accurate estimation of recovery for each individual specimen is also described. The method has been developed to meet the needs of monitoring drug therapy and the more urgent demands of acute overdosage.
New Approach for the Synthesis of IV-VI Thermoelectric Thin Film Materials and Devices on Si: (211) PbSnSeTe/ZnTe/Si Heterostructures

Low-dimensional thin-film thermoelectric materials including superlattices and quantum-dot heterostructures have shown significant potential for improving the thermoelectric properties. Highly structured thin film materials such as these would be useful for integrated microdevices such as power MEMS and thermally triggered MEMS actuators. For reasons including scalability and ease-of-integration, silicon is the choice material for the substrate, however there is a lattice and a thermal-expansion mismatch. In this work, a new approach for the synthesis of integrated PbSnSeTe based thermoelectric thin film materials on silicon is demonstrated by employing an epitaxial buffer layer of II-VI compound telluride materials (e.g., ZnTe, CdTe) to help bridge the lattice and thermal expansion mismatches with silicon. This multilayer can be used for subsequent growth of thick films having low-dimensionality structures. We report the initial results from studying the structural and thermoelectric properties of simple solid-solution alloy PbSnSeTe thin films on ZnTe/Si heterostructures. Data from transmission electron microscopy and in-situ electron diffraction will be presented that shows that despite the large lattice mismatch with silicon and the three different crystal structures, unusually high structural quality PbSnSeTe has been obtained by matching the (211) lattice symmetry and the lattice spacing along the [110] directions of the ZnTe and PbSnSeTe. The structural quality of the PbSnSeTe was studied by measuring the dislocation density through etch-pit counting and x-ray diffraction. Results presented will show that a dislocation density as low as 1.2 × 106/cm2 can be achieved by strategic lattice-matching between the buffer and thermoelectric layers. Electrical resistivity, doping density, and Seebeck coefficient values for solid-solution alloys without low-dimensional structuring will be shown to approach those of high-performance bulk.
How stereotypes and attitudes toward older adults are challenged through intergenerational contact: Young people explain the process

There is a growing body of evidence on the effectiveness of intergenerational contact in challenging stereotypes and attitudes, particularly when applying the four conditions of Allport's contact hypothesis. Despite this, little is known of how change actually occurs, particularly among young people. Individual interviews with twelve young people (age 11-12 years) were conducted to determine the extent and process by which their stereotypes and attitudes toward older adults (aged 65+) changed through intergenerational contact based on the contact hypothesis. Data analysis revealed five themes and 12 subthemes that illustrate this process. The findings support the contact hypothesis, explain how change occurs, and point to the need for further research on the change process.
Anterior Tibial Artery Injury Following Tibiotalocalcaneal Retrograde Intramedullary Nailing: A Case Report

Case: We report the case of a patient who sustained injury to the anterior tibial artery during tibiotalocalcaneal retrograde nailing and developed an acutely ischemic foot. Conclusion: Vascular injury during tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis with retrograde nailing is a rare but serious complication. While retrograde tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis nailing for end-stage ankle and subtalar arthritis has shown encouraging results, a high index of suspicion for postoperative complications is necessary in patients with risk factors for poor posterior collateral circulation.
Explaining Racial Disparities in Child Asthma Readmission Using a Causal Inference Approach.

Importance Childhood asthma is characterized by disparities in the experience of morbidity, including the risk for readmission to the hospital after an initial hospitalization. African American children have been shown to have more than 2 times the hazard of readmission when compared with their white counterparts. Objective To explain why African American children are at greater risk for asthma-related readmissions than white children. Design, Setting, and Participants This study was completed as part of the Greater Cincinnati Asthma Risks Study, a population-based, prospective, observational cohort. From August 2010 to October 2011, it enrolled 695 children, aged 1 to 16 years, admitted for asthma or wheezing who identified as African American (n = 441) or white (n = 254) in an inpatient setting of an urban, tertiary care children’s hospital. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcome was time to asthma-related readmission and race was the predictor. Biologic, environmental, disease management, access, and socioeconomic hardship variables were measured; their roles in understanding racial readmission disparities were conceptualized using a directed acyclic graphic. Inverse probability of treatment weighting balanced African American and white children with respect to key measured variables. Racial differences in readmission hazard were assessed using weighted Cox proportional hazards regression and Kaplan-Meier curves. Results The sample was 65% male (n = 450), and the median age was 5.4 years. African American children were 2.26 times more likely to be readmitted than white children (95% CI, 1.56-3.26). African American children significantly differed with respect to nearly every measured biologic, environmental, disease management, access, and socioeconomic hardship variable. Socioeconomic hardship variables explained 53% of the observed disparity (hazard ratio, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.05-2.05). The addition of biologic, environmental, disease management, and access variables resulted in 80% of the readmission disparity being explained. The difference between African American and white children with respect to readmission hazard no longer reached the level of significance (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.87-1.60; Cox P = .30 and log-rank P = .39). Conclusions and Relevance A total of 80% of the observed readmission disparity between African American and white children could be explained after statistically balancing available biologic, environmental, disease management, access to care, and socioeconomic and hardship variables across racial groups. Such a comprehensive, well-framed approach to exposures that are associated with morbidity is critical as we attempt to better understand and lessen persistent child asthma disparities.
The Environmental Legacy of Alexander Hamilton: Manufacturing Power from Delusion

Alexander Hamilton’s goal was to build America into a respected and feared world power. To accomplish this mission, it was necessary to move the country away from its agrarian foundations and toward an urban, industrial, manufacturing economy. Hamilton was unambiguous regarding the environmental legacy of this debt-ridden society of “consumers.” With chilling clarity, he stated, “the bowels and the surface of the earth are ransacked” for materials to feed the American delusion that our vanity and fear can be mollified by a rat race of borrowing, labor, and consumption. Hamilton’s legacy lives today in the shopping malls and discount centers of a nation that comprises 4 % of the world’s population but devours 25 % of the world’s resources.
Centralized access to cancer registries.

Abstract Purpose The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and National Cancer Institute are seeking to improve methods to evaluate cancer as a clinical outcome in postapproval studies of drug and device safety. Challenges to monitoring cancer outcomes include years-long latency periods for many cancers, difficulty in tracking patients over long periods of time, missing outcomes of interest if relying on reporting by patients or health care providers, burden of collecting high-quality, detailed documentation of incident cancers, and low statistical power for rarer cancers. Methods Registration of incident cancers including patient identifiers occurs in every U.S. state. Yet, each state cancer registry is administered and must be accessed separately, which creates a nearly insurmountable burden of time, effort, and cost for postmarket surveillance in multiple or all states. A voluntary process is in development which would allow states to reduce these barriers and enhance the health and safety of their residents. Called the Virtual Pooled Registry–Cancer Linkage System, state cancer registries will continue to hold and control their registry data while having access to a more streamlined process for postmarket surveillance, providing better quality, complete, and more rapid discovery. Results A Web-based application and review process are in development with an additional effort devoted to highly automated linkage processes and federally compliant data file transmission security. Conclusions The Food and Drug Administration and National Cancer Institute will have enhanced abilities to perform high-quality postmarket surveillance and other research at lower cost and with faster speed. This system also seeks to reduce cost and burden by participating state cancer registries. This process also supports the current modifications proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and 15 other Federal Departments and Agencies to modernize, strengthen, and make more effective the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects known as the Common Rule.
Contemporary short- and long-term outcomes in patients with unremitting constipation and fecal incontinence treated with an antegrade continence enema.

Abstract Purpose The primary aim of this study is to determine the natural history of patients who undergo an antegrade continence enema (ACE) procedure including complications, functional results, and long-term outcomes. Methods Patients aged 3–18years who underwent an ACE procedure from 2008 to 2015 for unremitting constipation and fecal incontinence with at least thirty day follow-up were included. Patients with congenital anatomic disorders of the spine, rectum, and anus were excluded. Results A total of 93 patients were included in the analysis with an average age of 10+/−4years and follow-up of 26+/−41months. The ACE procedure was rapidly effective, with 99% of patients experiencing improvement at 1month. At the end of follow-up, 83% of patients had normal bowel function, and 95% of patients noted improvement. Amongst patients with at least 24months of follow-up (n=51), 43% successfully stopped using their ACE at an average of 40+/−27months. Overall morbidity was 55%, mostly related to minor complications. However, 13% of patients required an additional operation. Conclusion The ACE procedure is very successful in the treatment of unremitting constipation with fecal incontinence in appropriately selected patients. Level of evidence Level IV.
Bariatric embolization: a new and effective option for the obese patient?

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Obesity is a public health epidemic in the United States, which results in significant morbidity, mortality, and cost to the healthcare system. Despite advancements in traditional therapeutic options for the obese patients, there is a treatment gap for patients in whom lifestyle modifications alone have not been successful, but for whom bariatric surgery is not a suitable option.Areas covered: This treatment gap needs to be addressed and thus, complimentary or alternative treatments to lifestyle changes and surgery are urgently needed. Recent evidence suggests that embolization of the gastric fundus (‘Bariatric Embolization’), which is predominantly supplied by the left gastric artery, may affect energy homeostasis by decreasing ghrelin production. The purpose of this special report is to discuss the background, rationale and latest data on this topic, as well as provide the latest data from the ongoing BEAT Obesity clinical trial.Expert commentary: A multipronged approach is essenti...
Scaling equations for the accurate prediction of CMOS device performance from 180 nm to 7 nm

Abstract Classical scaling equations which estimate parameters such as circuit delay and energy per operation across technology generations have been extremely useful for predicting performance metrics as well as for comparing designs across fabrication technologies. Unfortunately in the CMOS deep-submicron era, the classical scaling equations are becoming increasingly less accurate and new practical scaling methods are needed. We curve fit second and third-order polynomials to circuit delay, energy, and power dissipation results based on HSpice simulations utilizing the Predictive Technology Model (PTM) and International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) models. While the classical scaling equations give differences as much as 83×from the predictions of PTM and ITRS models, our predictive polynomial models with table-based coefficients yield a coefficient of determination, or R 2 , value of greater than 0.95.
Factors Associated with Asthma ED Visit Rates among Medicaid-enrolled Children: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Background: Asthma is one of the leading causes of emergency department visits and school absenteeism among school-aged children in the United States, but there is significant local-area variation in emergency department visit rates, as well as significant differences across racial-ethnic groups. Analysis: We first calculated emergency department (ED) visit rates among Medicaid-enrolled children age 5–12 with asthma using a multi-state dataset. We then performed exploratory factor analysis using over 226 variables to assess whether they clustered around three county-level conceptual factors (socioeconomic status, healthcare capacity, and air quality) thought to be associated with variation in asthma ED visit rates. Measured variables (including ED visit rate as the outcome of interest) were then standardized and tested in a simple conceptual model through confirmatory factor analysis. Results: County-level (contextual) variables did cluster around factors declared a priori in the conceptual model. Structural equation models connecting the ED visit rates to socioeconomic status, air quality, and healthcare system professional capacity factors (consistent with our conceptual framework) converged on a solution and achieved a reasonable goodness of fit on confirmatory factor analysis. Conclusion: Confirmatory factor analysis offers an approach for quantitatively testing conceptual models of local-area variation and racial disparities in asthma-related emergency department use.
Managing the death of close others: Evidence of higher valuing of ingroup identity in young adults who have experienced the death of a close other

AbstractThe death of a close other (DOCO) is perhaps the most difficult experience that people endure. According to terror management theory (TMT), people manage the potentially terrorizing awareness of their mortality by immersing in cultural worldviews that allow them to feel like valuable members of a meaningful universe who may have some existence or trace after death. Although TMT has potential implications for understanding how people cope with DOCO, few studies have examined this possibility. We report results from four studies showing that, in line with TMT, students who experienced DOCO reported stronger valuing of their identification with their in-groups, which in turn was associated with higher levels of self-esteem. These findings shed new light on the social-psychological dynamics of DOCO.
Environmental exposure and cancer in children. A conceptual framework for the pediatrician.

Compared with adults, fetuses, infants, and children are in a dynamic state of growth and development, resulting in different capabilities for inactivating or activating potential carcinogenic exposures. In addition, the unique neoplasms that occur in children make extrapolation from adult or animal studies of cancer etiology of questionable use for assessing causes and risks of childhood cancer. The conundrum for pediatric health care providers and policymakers is to determine how best to make reasonable recommendations to protect children from known or potential carcinogenic exposures with commonly incomplete information. These considerations must take into account the knowledge that children have many years of life remaining for carcinogenic agents to become manifest and that exposure during childhood may not result in cancer until adulthood. Informed decisions regarding recommendations on health policies based on a suspected or confirmed environmental cause of cancer in children requires at least two components: (1) a systematic assessment of the weight of evidence after a review of available studies and (2) placing the studies into a conceptual framework that allows for the available data to be reviewed in the context of epidemiologic principles of causal inference. Given the increasing body of scientific knowledge from epidemiologic studies of environmental exposures and childhood cancer, any article recently published soon will be outdated. A comprehensive review of environmental exposure studies of childhood cancer can be found in the book by Little (1999). 9 Rather than identifying all potential environmental agents that are suspected to have a causal association with childhood cancer, relatively few of which have been confirmed, 12 this article discusses different epidemiologic methods used to identify potential carcinogenic exposure in children and background information about how to draw reasonable conclusions from these studies.
Promoting Good Laboratory Practices for Waived Infectious Disease and Provider-Performed Microscopy Testing

Abstract Laboratory testing at the point of patient care was documented hundreds of years ago and has greatly expanded in the last 25 years due to improvements in technology, miniaturization, and the availability of rapid tests for a wide variety of analytes and microorganisms. Since the implementation of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988, the number of non-traditional testing sites that provide testing with minimal oversight through a Certificate of Waiver (CW) or Certificate of Provider-Performed Microscopy (PPM) has increased. Concerns have been expressed about some practices, and data have identified quality gaps in these sites where testing may be performed by personnel who do not have laboratory training or experience. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed free educational tools to promote regulatory compliance and good laboratory practices in CW and PPM sites. Uptake and positive reviews of these materials indicate their value as a resource to improve testing quality.
Multiple sclerosis in pediatric patients in Slovenia

Abstract Aim The purpose of this study is to review the Slovenian experience with the diagnostics, treatment and outcome in pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods Children and adolescent diagnosed with MS and followed by Department of Child, Adolescent and Developmental Neurology, University Childrens' Hospital Ljubljana, between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012 were included. Data from patients' documentation were analyzed retrospectively to record demographic data, clinical presentation, paraclinical findings, disability progression, relapse rate and treatment strategies. Results The study includes 38 patients up to 18 years with MS diagnosis, with female: male ratio 2.8:1 and the incidence of 0.81 per 100.000 children of 0–18 years. The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 15 years 4 months. Most frequent presenting symptoms were sensory, motor, brain-stem, visual and ataxia and 65% of patients had a relapse in the first year. The value of paraclinical findings was asessed. 74% of patients with definite MS and 36% of those with clinically isolated syndrome received disease modifyng therapy and 68% of them was not affected at the follow-up. Interpretation The characteristics of pediatric MS patients in Slovenia disclose higher annual relapse rates than in adults but also favorable impact of disease modifying treatment on a clinical course. Our data suggest a good treatment tolerance but also the influence of the formulation on a decision to start or switch the treatment.
The Role of Ultrasound-Guided Therapeutic Paracentesis in an Outpatient Transitional Care Program: A Case Series.

Background:Patients with ascites suffer from distressing symptoms and are at high risk for readmission after hospitalization. Timely paracentesis is an important palliative tool in managing this vu...
The association of aspirin use with severity of acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Little is known about the effect of long-term aspirin use on acute severity of COPD. We hypothesized that, in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD), long-term aspirin use is associated with lower risks of disease severity (in-hospital death, mechanical ventilation use, and hospital length-of-stay). We conducted a retrospective cohort study using large population-based data from 2012 through 2013. Among 206,686 patients (aged ≥40 years) hospitalized for AECOPD, aspirin users had lower in-hospital mortality (1.0 vs. 1.4%; OR 0.60 [95% CI 0.50–0.72]; P < 0.001) and lower risk of invasive mechanical ventilation use (1.7 vs. 2.6%; OR 0.64 [95% CI 0.55–0.73]; P < 0.001) compared to non-users, while there was no significant difference in risks of non-invasive positive pressure ventilation use. Length-of-stay was shorter in aspirin users compared to non-users (P < 0.001). In sum, in patients with AECOPD, aspirin use was associated with lower rates of in-hospital mortality and invasive mechanical ventilation use, and shorter length-of-stay.
Dynamic Encoding of Incentive Salience in the Ventral Pallidum: Dependence on the Form of the Reward Cue

Some rats are especially prone to attribute incentive salience to a cue (conditioned stimulus, CS) paired with food reward (sign-trackers, STs), but the extent they do so varies as a function of the form of the CS. Other rats respond primarily to the predictive value of a cue (goal-trackers, GTs), regardless of its form. Sign-tracking is associated with greater cue-induced activation of mesolimbic structures than goal-tracking; however, it is unclear how the form of the CS itself influences activity in neural systems involved in incentive salience attribution. Thus, our goal was to determine how different cue modalities affect neural activity in the ventral pallidum (VP), which is known to encode incentive salience attribution, as rats performed a two-CS Pavlovian conditioned approach task in which both a lever-CS and a tone-CS predicted identical food reward. The lever-CS elicited sign-tracking in some rats (STs) and goal-tracking in others (GTs), whereas the tone-CS elicited only goal-tracking in all rats. The lever-CS elicited robust changes in neural activity (sustained tonic increases or decreases in firing) throughout the VP in STs, relative to GTs. These changes were not seen when STs were exposed to the tone-CS, and in GTs there were no differences in firing between the lever-CS and tone-CS. We conclude that neural activity throughout the VP encodes incentive signals and is especially responsive when a cue is of a form that promotes the attribution of incentive salience to it, especially in predisposed individuals.
Longitudinal predictors of competence among African American children: The role of distal and proximal risk factors

Abstract In this investigation, we examined the influence of distal and proximal risk factors (family economic hardship, perceived neighborhood threats, intensity of negative life events, maternal alcohol abuse, maternal depression, and poor quality of the home environment) on child competence (externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors and cognitive performance) at ages 5 and 6. These complex interrelationships were examined using four explanatory statistical models: (a) independent–additive, (b) cumulative/exponential, (c) mediating, and (4) interactive. The sample included 217 African American mothers and their children recruited from primary care clinics serving low-income, urban families. Mothers and children participated in annual evaluations that included standardized developmental assessments, home observations, and questionnaires on demographics, children's behavior, and maternal and family functioning. Children demonstrated more behavior problems and scored lower on measures of cognitive performance than national norms at ages 5 and 6. Results supported the four statistical models (although to different degrees) on how and under what conditions distal and proximal risk factors were linked to child competence. Results indicated that distal and proximal risk factors predict cross-sectional models of competence but show limited long-term effect, partly due to the stability and maintenance of behaviors over time. Interventions to prevent behavioral and developmental problems among young children should begin early and target both distal and proximal risk factors.
Development of ethanologenic bacteria.

The utilization of lignocellulosic biomass as a petroleum alternative faces many challenges. This work reviews recent progress in the engineering of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella oxytoca to produce ethanol from biomass with minimal nutritional supplementation. A combination of directed engineering and metabolic evolution has resulted in microbial biocatalysts that produce up to 45 g L−1 ethanol in 48 h in a simple mineral salts medium, and convert various lignocellulosic materials to ethanol. Mutations contributing to ethanologenesis are discussed. The ethanologenic biocatalyst design approach was applied to other commodity chemicals, including optically pure d(−)- and l(+)-lactic acid, succinate and l-alanine with similar success. This review also describes recent progress in growth medium development, the reduction of hemicellulose hydrolysate toxicity and reduction of the demand for fungal cellulases.
An Opportunistic Interpretation of Adam Smith’s Inquiry into the Nature and Interrelations of Inventions, Entrepreneurship and Innovations

According to the conventional wisdom in doctrinal history, “J. B. Say ... was the first [economist] to assign to the entrepreneur — per se and distinct from the capitalist — a definite position in the schema of the economic process.” Adam “Smith glanced at the type occasionally,” but he paid no attention to entrepreneurs beyond this furtive glance, Joseph A. Schumpeter alleged. Hence the “impression that his readers get” is that Smith was of the opinion that a “business runs by itself (Schumpeter 1954, 555). Robert F. Hebert and Albert N. Link echoed Schumpeter when they observed that “Smith failed to separate the entrepreneurial decision making from among the various kinds of ‘ industrious people’ in the economy” (Hebert and Link 1988, 46). The claim by Schumpeter et al. that Smith disregarded the entrepreneurial function has not gone unchallenged. Some forty years ago, “F. Redlich and B. F. Hoselitz ... showed the baselessness of such a claim.” Recently, Enzo Pesciarelli demonstrated that the “concept of the entrepreneur can indeed be found in … [Smith’s] Wealth of Nations. ” He located three types of this personage therein: The “adventurer,” the “projector,” and the “undertaker” (Pesciarelli 1989, 521,522,523,526).
Why question screening mammography for women in their forties

Groups that do not recommend mammography for all women in their forties do so with reason. Even after seven randomized controlled trials and participation by over 170,000 women it is not clear whether screening women in this age group for breast cancer saves lives. It is clear that in contrast to older women, in women in their forties there is no effect for several years after screening begins, and an uncertain marginal effect after a decade. If an effect is present it may be owing to the fact that women move into an age group when mammography is effective. The uncertainty about mammography in younger women is strong enough that investigators from the seven trials are working to conduct overview analyses of the data from all the trials to assess better at what age breast cancer screening saves lives. There also is enough uncertainty that a trial with almost 200,000 women has begun in the United Kingdom and another one is being considered for Europe. If the answer about mammography for women in their forties is clear, why would such large new trials be started? Meanwhile, evidence exists that breast cancer screening costs a great deal, not just in dollars but in human terms. There also is increasing concern about the possibility of overdiagnosis. The financial costs primarily are owing to charges for screening mammograms. The human costs primarily are owing to false-positive readings and, if present, overdiagnosis. Ultimately, the decision to screen women in their forties for breast cancer involves a weighting of benefits (in mortality reduction) and costs (in dollars, anxiety over false-positive results, biopsy and surgery for noncancerous lesions, and overdiagnosis). Most emphasis in the debate about breast cancer screening has been on the evidence about effectiveness. But the costs are substantial. Groups that do not recommend routine screening mammography for all women in their forties require a greater standard of evidence for effectiveness of screening than those that do. Why is this so? First, there are financial considerations. When a health care intervention is recommended for every person in our society, costs mount fast. At any time, but particularly in an era of cost constraints, it is not only reasonable but incumbent on all involved in health care to look carefully at how much benefit there is for the expenditure and how strong is the scientific evidence. Second, many persons who consider prevention activities argue that there is an ethical reason.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Transdiagnostic mechanism of social phobia and depression: The role of anger dysregulation

Emotion dysregulation has been identified as a transdiagnostic mechanism underlying social phobia and depression; however, there is much to learn about how emotion dysregulation leads to these spec...
“Don’t You See What’s Going on Here?” Seinfeld and Badiou on Situations and Events:

Far from being merely “a show about nothing,” this article argues that the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998) managed to develop a sophisticated theory of situations and events in mode...
A genetic algorithm for multi-robot routing in automated bridge inspection

We attack the problem of generating balanced and efficient routing for automated inspection by using genetic algorithms to solve the equivalent Min-Max k Windy Chinese Postman Problem. Specifically, we use k robots to collectively inspect every member of a steel truss bridge. Experimental results show that the genetic algorithm produces efficient routes that are well-balanced among the robots. Additionally, we demonstrate that with our novel representation, as the number of robots increases, the generated routes exhibit near-linear speedup in the time needed to complete the inspection task - k robots take [MATHS HERE] the time needed by one robot. Finally, our genetic algorithm produces similar results on a set of benchmark arc routing problem instances from the literature.
Paul Ramsey’s Christian Deontology

Paul Ramsey’s ethics certainly is Christian. But it is also more pointedly a Christian deontological ethics. For example, Ramsey claims, “[c]ertainly Christian ethics is a deontological ethic, not an ‘ethic of the good.’” In the context of his early writings, however, Ramsey’s characterization of the deontological bent of Christian ethics is frustratingly murky. Specifically, the analytic distinctions he makes are not sufficiently stark. In order to understand why Ramsey holds that Christian ethics ought to be construed as deontological, I will proceed as follows. I will first reconstruct Ramsey’s arguments from Basic Christian Ethics to appreciate his foundational claims about the Christian moral life. I will then turn to his later writings, focusing especially on those about medical ethics, that lend clarity to his earlier work. These later arguments, I will argue, help us better appreciate Ramsey’s earlier claims in favor of Christian deontology.
Codes for Covert Communication over Additive White Gaussian Noise Channels

We propose a coding scheme for covert communication over additive white Gaussian noise channels, which extends a previous construction for discrete memoryless channels. We first show how sparse signaling with On-Off keying fails to achieve the covert capacity but that a modification allowing the use of binary phase-shift keying for "on" symbols recovers the loss. We then construct a modified pulse-position modulation scheme that, combined with multilevel coding, can achieve the covert capacity with low-complexity error-control codes. The main contribution of this work is to reconcile the tension between diffuse and sparse signaling suggested by earlier information-theoretic results.
Effect of Failure To Respond to Targeted Therapy on Response to Cytotoxic Therapy in Pts Age ≥ 60 with Newly-Diagnosed AML.

An increasing number of studies are emphasizing use of less toxic, often called “targeted”, therapies (TT) in pts age ≥ 60 with untreated AML. A significant proportion of TTs are unlikely to produce even “hematologic improvement”, raising the question whether response to subsequent cytotoxic therapy (CT) is adversely affected in pts who fail to respond to TT. From 11/00–7/06, 25 pts received CT (containing ara-C in 20 cases) as 1st salvage therapy after failing to respond to a 1st course of TT (23 pts) or relapsing after brief CRs with such therapy. The TTs were decitabine or 5azacitidine +/− valproic acid 9 pts, PKC412 5 pts, tipifarnib 3 pts, HDAC inhibitors 3 pts, others 3 pts. The median age of the 25 pts was 71 years; 12 of the 24 whose cytogenetic status was determined had a normal karyotype (“diploid”), 7 had chromosome 5 and/or 7 abnormalities (-5/7), and 5 various other poor prognosis abnormalities. The CR rate after CT salvage in the 12 diploid pts was 8/12; their median survival was 44 weeks. Among 114 diploid pts who, from 11/00–7/06, met eligibility criteria for TT studies (WBC < 20,000, performance status < 3) but were given ara-C-containing CT as 1st therapy CR rate was 68% and median survival 53 weeks. Only 1/12 pts with abnormal karyotypes who received CT as 1st salvage achieved CR; median survival was 13 weeks. In contrast, in the 161 pts with an abnormal karyotype (50% -5/-7) who were given CT as 1st therapy, CR rate was 37% (p = 0.06) and median survival 19 weeks. Subject to various potential selection biases our conclusions are: (1) in diploid pts failure to respond to TT does not materially affect outcome with CT and (2) failure to respond to TT may identify pts with abnormal cytogenetics who are unlikely to respond to CT; in any event, there is no reason to give such pts CT salvage.
Cancer in Systemic Sclerosis: Analysis of antibodies against components of the Th/To Complex

Objective The aim of this study is to describe 4 of the most common autoantibodies against components of the Th/To complex: human POP1 (hPOP1), RPP25, RPP30, and RPP40. We report their prevalence and clinical characteristics in a systemic sclerosis (SSc) population, and determine whether these specificities are associated with cancer. Methods A case-control study was performed using data from the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center Cohort. A total of 804 adult patients with SSc were included; 401 SSc patients with no history of cancer after at least 5 years of disease were compared to 403 SSc patients who ever had a history of cancer. Antibodies against hPOP1, RPP25, RPP30, and RPP40 were assayed by immunoprecipitation of 35 S-methionine-labeled proteins generated by in vitro transcription/translation. Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared between groups. Results Of 804 patients, 67 (8.3%) had antibodies against any component of the Th/To complex. Patients with antibodies to any component were significantly more likely to have limited cutaneous disease, less likely to have tendon friction rubs, and more likely to have findings consistent with interstitial lung disease or pulmonary hypertension. Patients with antibodies against hPOP1, RPP25, RPP30, and/or RPP40 were significantly less likely to develop cancer within 2 years of SSc onset (0% versus 11% of antibody-negative patients; P = 0.009). Conclusion SSc patients who produce autoantibodies to components of the Th/To complex have a clinical phenotype characterized by limited cutaneous disease and pulmonary involvement. Our findings show that the presence of any Th/To autoantibody may have a protective effect against contemporaneous cancer.
The Role of Definitive Radiation and Surgery in Metastatic Esophageal Cancer: An NCDB Investigation.

Background Approximately 40% of patients with esophageal cancer present with metastatic disease. Survival with palliative treatment is poor, and the benefit of aggressive focal therapies is unclear. This study aimed to identify a subset of patients with metastatic esophageal cancer with favorable outcomes after curative doses of radiation therapy, esophagectomy, or both. Methods Between 2004 and 2015, the study investigators found 28,101 patients with metastatic esophageal cancer in the National Cancer Database and identified those who underwent chemotherapy and definitive radiation therapy with or without surgery over the study period. The study compared the estimated median overall survival (OS) of all patients with metastatic esophageal cancer with the estimated median OS of patients with metastatic esophageal cancer who underwent radiation therapy with or without surgery. Multivariable analysis was used to examine clinical and pathologic factors associated with OS. Results At a median follow-up of 11.1 months, 3219 patients with a median age of 64 years and a radiation dose of 50.4 Gy were identified. Only 202 (6.2%) patients undergoing definitive-dose radiation therapy underwent esophagectomy, with a median age of 60 years. The median OS durations for all patients, for patients treated with radiation, and for patients treated with radiation therapy in combination with esophagectomy were 6.6, 11.5, and 30.2 months, respectively. Among patients undergoing surgery, median OS after surgery was 23.7 months. Patients with lung, liver, or bone metastases were less likely to undergo esophagectomy. On multivariable analysis, esophagectomy and low tumor grade were associated with higher OS, whereas liver and bone metastases at diagnosis were associated with worse OS. Conclusions This analysis suggests that select subsets of patients with primarily nonvisceral, nonosseous metastatic esophageal cancer have favorable survival and may potentially benefit from aggressive local therapies.
Designing 3D printable cementitious materials with gel-forming polymers

Abstract This work explores the use of hydrogel-forming polymers as printing aids for cement-based pastes. The principal results suggest an inverse relationship between gel and paste rheology and printability. The preferred gel is mechanically stiff, while the preferred printing paste is malleable and retains shape. The results, which include printability indexes (PI), mix formulation factors, and rheological measurements, form a framework for selection of gel-based printing aids and can be used as a basis for quality control of three-dimensional (3D) printed objects. Such gel-forming polymers may reduce the need for more complex admixture packages as printing aids.
Can Multiple Ions in an Ionic Liquid Improve the Biomass Pretreatment Efficacy

Over the last few decades, efforts to transition the global production of fuels and chemicals toward renewable carbon feedstocks have accelerated. A large portion of these efforts have focused on valorization of one of the most abundant renewable carbon sources, lignocellulose. Pretreatment of lignocellulose is the first critical step in this process. In this study, novel ionic liquid (IL) systems consisting of multiple ions known to be effective at biomass pretreatment were tested on woody and grassy biomass. Molecular simulations and experimental results established the synergistic advantages of combining specific individual components in these systems. For pine (woody) biomass, pretreatment with the combination of imidazolium, cholinium, acetate, and lysinate ions achieved 80% glucose and 70% xylose yields at high biomass loading. For sorghum biomass, an IL system comprising cholinium, lysinate, and palmitate ions not only enabled a 98% glucose yield but was also found to be biocompatible in a one-pot configuration, producing the biofuel precursor bisabolene using an engineered strain of the yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides.
Preventing server-side request forgery attacks

In today's web, it is not uncommon for web applications to take a complete URL as input from users. Usually, once the web application receives a URL, the server opens a connection to it. However, if the URL points to an internal service and the server still makes the connection, the server becomes vulnerable to Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks. These attacks can be highly destructive when they exploit internal services. They are equally destructive and need much less effort to succeed if the server is hosted in a cloud environment. Therefore, with the growing use of cloud computing, the threat of SSRF attacks is becoming more serious. In this paper, we present a novel defense approach to protect internal services from SSRF attacks. Our analysis of more than 60 SSRF vulnerability reports shows that developers' awareness about this vulnerability is generally limited. Therefore, coders usually have flaws in their defenses. Even when these defenses have no flaws, they are usually still affected by important security and functionality limitations. In this work, we develop a prototype based on the proposed approach by extending the functionality of a popular reverse proxy application and deploy a set of vulnerable web applications with that prototype. We demonstrate how SSRF attacks on these applications, with almost no loss of performance, are prevented.
Supervised Learning for Detecting Stealthy False Data Injection Attacks in the Smart Grid

The largest and the most complex cyber-physical systems, the smart grids, are under constant threat of multi-faceted cyber-attacks. The state estimation (SE) is at the heart of a series of critical control processes in the power transmission system. The false data injection (FDI) attacks against the SE can severely disrupt the power systems operationally and economically. With knowledge of the system topology, a cyber-attacker can formulate and execute stealthy FDI attacks that are very difficult to detect. Statistical, physics-based, and more recently, data-driven machine learning-based approaches have been undertaken to detect the FDI attacks. In this chapter, we employ five supervised machine learning models to detect stealthy FDI attacks. We also use ensembles, where multiple classifiers are used and decisions by individual classifiers are further classified, to find out if ensembles give any better results. We also use feature selection method to reduce the number of features to investigate if it improves detection rate and speed up the testing process. We run experiments using simulated data from the standard IEEE 14-bus system. The simulation results show that the ensemble classifiers do not perform any better than the individual classifiers. However, feature reduction speeds up the training by manyfold without compromising the model performance.